


What the Water Gave Us

by miss_maraudeur



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2016-09-21
Packaged: 2018-03-09 17:11:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 124,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3257825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_maraudeur/pseuds/miss_maraudeur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura and Carmilla have known each other for years, but unfortunately for their friends Lafontaine and Perry, they've disliked each other for just as long. A feud as old as it is pointless, Lafontaine and Perry long ago stopped trying to reconcile the two girls. That is until Lafontaine gets the idea of a lifetime. Or maybe it's just a recipe for disaster...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is just a tiny prologue. The actual chapters are going to be much bigger (like 6x bigger or so). I've written before, but never full length story for the Carmilla fandom. So yeah, this is all new and exciting. I hope you guys can get on board :-) Let me know?

**Prologue**

Lola Perry wasn't sure she'd ever seen Lafontaine that excited in her entire life. It was a bit sad, really, when you thought about it. One would have thought that Perry had seen them more enthusiastic on the day they'd first kissed or on the day they'd gotten engaged perhaps, but Perry was quite certain this was an entire new level of excitement.

 

"I'm telling you Per! This could _not_ have turned out better!" Lafontaine exclaimed happily.

"Are you quite sure, honey? " Perry asked, her brows furrowing in worry.

"Of course I'm sure! I'm telling you, this is _genius_! How can you not see how _genius_ it is?!"

"Well..." she mumbled.

 

In truth, there were many reasons she could think of and it didn't even have anything to do with the fact that Lafontaine's plans usually had a tendency to backfire horribly. But it wasn't her lover's worst plan either, if she was honest with herself.

 

In all the years Perry had known them, Lafontaine had done some pretty incredibly catastrophic experiments. Like the time they'd tried to incorporate a flu vaccine into cupcakes in College only to send half the student body to the infirmary with diarrhea and heavy vomiting. It was always done in the name of science, of course, and Perry knew her lover did all this because they genuinely cared about others- she loved them for it really. Still, the repercussions weren't always on the forefront of her fiancé's mind and sometimes they were plain dreadful.

 

It was in light of this that Perry was concerned about Lafontaine's newest scheme. If sending their friends Laura and Carmilla on a cruise together in the hopes they'd develop romantic feelings for each other wasn't the _worst_ plan they'd formed, it still didn't sound safe at all. And if it went down just like the last time the ginger had tried to match the two women up, it was bound to go terribly wrong.

 

"Oh come on Per! It's not like we'll magically be able to go on the cruise anyway," Lafontaine argued. "And since we're not getting our money back, might as well make them profit from it!"

"Well I know _that_ makes sense. It's just..." Perry squirmed. "You know _exactly_ why I'm concerned!"

"Okay, so _maybe_ Carm and Laura aren't exactly the best of friends-"

"The best of friends? Honey, may I remind you of the last dinner we hosted with the two of them in attendance?" Perry said pointedly.

"It wasn't that bad..." Lafontaine tried to defend feebly.

"Wasn't that bad?! You remember what was _supposed_ to be a fun game of Pictionary, do you?"

"It started out fine..."

"Yes, because Carmilla sneering and laughing at everything Laura drew really was lovely," Perry snapped sarcastically.

"You know how Carm gets," Lafontaine defended a bit stronger this time. "She didn't mean anything by it."

"Oh yes, of course. And I'm sure it was an honest mistake when you drew the word 'gorilla' and Carmilla guessed it was Laura's ex girlfriend."

 

Lafontaine giggled, but stopped themselves when Perry shot them a glare.

 

"You have to admit Mandy was quite the woman! I mean, Laura is _tiny_."

 

Perry pressed her lips together to stop herself from smiling. Mandy _had_ been a very odd choice coming from Laura. But who was she to judge?

 

"Besides, Laura didn't even date her that long and _she_ dumped the girl! Carmilla wouldn't have made fun of the girl if L had really cared about her," Lafontaine stated confidently.

 

Perry knew Lafontaine was right, for all her flaws, Carmilla _wouldn't_ have made fun of the girl at all if she had meant anything to Laura. But of course, Perry was very aware that she could only know this for certain because Carmilla just happened to be her fiancé's best friend and therefore, she knew her a bit better than the rest of the world. She also knew that, as far as Laura was concerned, Carmilla was rude and unapologetic and a complete pain.

 

"I know you mean well, darling," Perry started slowly. "But I'm just concerned that it won't go as you hope it will. I wouldn't want either of them to get hurt..."

 

Lafontaine looked at her knowingly and right then Perry knew she hadn't been half as subtle as she had wanted to.

 

"Per, I know you don't exactly trust Carmilla, but she's not a bad person," the scientist defended softly. "She's... she's got this _really_ big heart, she just... well she doesn't like showing it too much."

"I _know_ , honey, I promise I do. I know how she is with _you_. But I'm afraid... Well, I'm not sure she'd ever show that level of kindness to anyone else, to be honest. And Laura... If Laura _does_ fall for her..." Perry stopped herself, her voice cracking.

 

Apart from Lafontaine, Perry hadn't had a closer friend than Laura for years. So the thought of the small girl hurting wasn't something she could bear.

 

"I know," Lafontaine replied softly. "I _know_ Carm has... well, taken pleasure in annoying Laura ever since they met and I know their relationship isn't exactly as rainbowy as I would have hoped, but..." They stopped when they saw the slight frown on their fiancée's forehead. "Look Per, if you don't want me to do this I won't. If you truly think they'd be completely wrong for each other, I'll drop it. If you think they'll make each other miserable, if you don't see the same potential I see then I _promise_ I'll drop the idea and won't ever bother you with it again."

 

Lafontaine looked at their fiancée seriously, showing her how completely sincere they were being. They didn't want Perry to feel obligated to answer in their favour so they poured every bit of neutrality they could into their eyes.

 

Perry looked at her lover for a few seconds, her teeth finding her bottom lip and chewing nervously before finally rolling her eyes.

 

"I... Well... Perhaps this one last plan..." Perry muttered begrudgingly.

"YES!" Lafontaine exclaimed happily before leaping at their fiancée and placing a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "It's _totally_ on! I'm gonna make the phone calls!"

 

They had started walking away when Perry shouted nervously.

 

"Just be gentle, darling! And pray nothing goes wrong, you remember how it actually went the first and last time you tried this."

"Of course I do!" Lafontaine said happily. "But this time, it'll be perfect!" They said, their eyes drifting off into their own little world where Perry felt sure they were seeing their friends loving each other forever.

 

Perry sighed as her fiancé left the room. Maybe she could start praying now?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes on pronouns:  
> I actually wanted to say something about the use of "fiancé" when referring to Lafontaine. Fiancé is a French word and as some of you may know, it's usually the way to spell it when referring to a male fiancé (the female version being fiancée). I just wanted to point out that taking away gender in French is actually impossible. There is no neutral pronoun in French. It's always male or female related. So when I was writing I came up to this word and had to make a conscious choice about the spelling (being French and all). So I consciously chose the 'fiancé' spelling but not because I want to associate Lafontaine with a male gender. In French, the default pronoun is masculine. And if there's a group composed of men and women, you're supposed to use the masculine form/pronouns (I know it's pretty patriarchal, but that's how the language works). So when I chose the 'fiancé' form I chose it as a default pronoun and not for its masculine connotation. I felt more comfortable with using that than 'fiancée' because it felt to me like using the feminine form was purposefully gendering Lafontaine, which I didn't want to do. It felt like using the default masculine form was closer to taking away any connotation to gender than using the feminine form. I know only anyone with some knowledge of French will have noticed this, but it's important to me to specify. Lafontaine, even if they are a fictional character, deserves that mark of respect and I wouldn't want anyone to think I don't consider them. I'll also take this opportunity to say that if a "she" ever slip out in my writing when referring to Lafontaine, it will be completely accidental. This is my first time writing a genderqueer character and I'm not used to using pronouns like "they/them" when referring to one person. I will make my very best not to make that mistake though. But if I do, don't bite my head off, I'm not trying to negate their identity, I promise. 
> 
> That being said: you can find me on tumblr. And ask me anything. mmekeeklovescarmilla dot tumblr dot com


	2. Chapter 1: The Best Laid Plans...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support so far. Now let's start that story properly, shall we?

**Chapter 1: The Best Laid Plans...  
**

 

Today was going to be a _great_ day, or so Laura had decided. The wind was cold against her face, the telltale sign of winter, but the sun was shining, saving her cheeks from the worst of it. She'd spent a good week at work, had gone to yoga in the morning and was feeling good about herself in general. She'd had coffee at her favourite hole of a place while reading one of her old beloved book and she even had dinner plans with her best friend in the evening.

 

Yes, today was going to be great and nothing or no one would spoil it. Not even Carmilla Karnstein. Laura had _decided_.

 

She had been so pleased when Perry had called her the previous day to invite her to dinner. Sure, she'd heard a little note of nervousness in her friend's voice on the phone and had wondered what exactly was making Perry worried, but she'd been so eager to see her friend and catch up that she'd quickly discarded the feeling.

 

She'd understood the nervousness though when, a few minutes into the conversation, Perry had told her that Carmilla would also be in attendance.

 

"Noooo Per! Can't you invite us on two separate nights?" she had asked, full on whining.

 

Perry had sighed, before telling her that she couldn't. Apparently Lafontaine had insisted on Carmilla coming along as well and since Carmilla was Lafontaine's best friend, there was little Laura could do about it. It didn't mean that she hadn't complained about it to Perry for a while though. Her friend had diligently listened to her and tried to hide her sighs of exasperation. Laura had been grateful.

 

It was petty, by all means, whining about Carmilla was very much petty, Laura knew that much, but she had a hard time caring. The girl was, to put it mildly, not Laura's favourite person. Their relationship, if you could even call it that, was strained to say the least.

 

Laura wasn't quite sure why, but she was quite certain that there was little Carmilla liked more than to get on her nerves. And Laura had to admit that the other girl was ridiculously good at it. They'd known each other for a few years now and they'd been forced to hang out on several occasions- these things tended to happen when your best friends were dating- but neither the years nor the long evenings spent together had ever helped their relationship.

 

There was something about their dynamic, something about their personalities perhaps that seemed to clash. It was weird that it just so happened that they had matching taste in friends while being polar opposites themselves. Perry and particularly Lafontaine had never quite understood why they simply couldn't get along, but as far as Laura was concerned, this was the way things were and it had been so ever since they'd first met.

 

And what a shit show had that first meeting been.

 

_A few years ago..._

 

"Are you sure it's not... I don't know, too much?" Laura asked nervously as she looked at herself in the mirror.

 

She was wearing a tight black and red dress, tighter than she was used to and she wasn't sure she was comfortable.

 

"You look lovely!" Perry chirped happily, her smile as bright as ever.

 

Laura twisted and stared at her reflection. Her ass _did_ look quite fantastic and her cleavage was nicely showcased, but she was worried of looking like she was trying too hard. And if she was being completely honest with herself, she sort of was.

 

Laura hadn't been on a date in months. She'd been way too busy with school and her journalism projects to actually consider dating. After the first few months of her unplanned celibacy though, Perry had started worrying about her. And no matter how much Laura had tried to brush off her friend's concern, nothing had worked.

 

It was that worry that had started this whole thing actually. Because Perry's concern had soon caught the attention of her lover, Lafontaine. And once Lafontaine had heard of it, they'd gotten it in their head to set Laura up with one of their friends.

 

It had taken weeks before Laura would even hear anything about it. She wasn't into blind dates as a general rule and somehow this had seemed like a bad idea from the start. But after many efforts on Lafontaine's part, the small girl had finally relented and agreed to meet this "Carmilla" Laf was always going on about. She had categorically refused to go on a one on one date though as the thought alone filled her with dread.

 

This was how they'd ended up here, on New Year's Eve, with Laura getting ready to be sort of matched with this mysterious Carmilla. Perry was throwing a party on their college residence's floor, a party Laura had helped organize, and Lafontaine had invited Carmilla to join them. Laf would then introduce them and let them get to know each other. It was clear to Laura that her friend's lover had high hopes for them and it was making her a little nervous.

 

Furthermore, if Lafontaine was to be trusted on the matter, Carmilla was incredibly hot and, well, Laura was only human. She didn't want to look like the ugly duckling next to Laf's gorgeous best buddy. So she'd dolled up as best as she could, putting on her nicest dress for the occasion. Now though, she was worried she'd overdone it.

 

"Are you _really_ sure Perry?" Laura asked shakily.

"I am," her friend answered pointedly. "You are stunning and I am sure Carmilla will be very impressed."

 

Laura blushed and shook her head.

 

"This is ridiculous, I don't even know her..." Laura whispered looking at her fingers.

"You will after tonight! Now let's go! The party has already started and as the organizers it's bad form to be late," Perry urged her.

 

Laura nodded and together they departed. A few minutes later they entered the common room of their floor where music was already blaring and a few people were drinking and dancing. They'd made it two inches into the room when they were stopped by an over excited Lafontaine.

 

"Woah Hollis! You're looking fantastic! Carm will _love_ it!" they said confidently.

"You don't think I overdid it, do you?" Laura asked her over the music, spotting Perry's eye roll from the corner of her eye.

"Are you kidding me? You're perfect!" Lafontaine assured, making the smaller girl blush. "Carm will salivate so much when she sees you! Oh man, this is perfect!"

 

Laura bit her bottom lip and chuckled nervously.

 

"Where _is_ Carmilla, now that you're mentioning her?" she asked looking around herself.

 

When she faced her friend again she noticed that they were blushing. They scratched the back of their neck before replying.

 

"Oh hum, she's not here yet. Carm likes to be desired... She'll probably be a bit late..." Lafontaine admitted.

"Oh..." Laura mumbled, a slight frown appearing on her forehead.

 

She wasn't sure how much she was liking this piece of information.

 

"But don't worry!" Lafontaine hurried to continue. "She'll come, she promised me she would and she _never_ breaks a promise! Anyway, enough chit chat! Let's party!"

 

Laura nodded slowly and the next minute, they were mingling with the growing crowd.

 

If Laura had wondered about her looks at first, after a few hours into the party, she was starting to feel more comfortable. She'd received quite her share of interested looks so far and even though the only person who'd made a move on her was Kirsch- a very nice, but very much not her type puppy of a guy- she was still pleased.

 

The party was going great, the music was fantastic, the crowd had grown quite impressively and everyone was seemingly having fun. Laura couldn't ask for much more except, perhaps, for Carmilla to actually show up. Despite Lafontaine's constant reassurance that the other girl _would_ come, Laura was starting to have doubts. The hours were passing fast and there was just no sign of the girl who was supposed to be Laura's date.

 

In all honesty, the small girl was starting to be annoyed. Hadn't Lafontaine told this Carmilla that they were matching them with someone? Didn't this Carmilla care at all if she made Laura wait for hours? Apparently she didn't.

 

Laura had tried not to focus on that, but she'd admittedly had a hard time doing so. It was just so... _impolite_. Still, she tried not to let some stranger's rudeness ruin her entire night. So she talked to a few people, even indulging Kirsch for a minute as he showered her with compliments.

 

Around 10 o'clock, after a fair few hours of half shouting, Laura's throat started killing her. Somehow, the idea of chugging some drink to refresh herself didn't feel attractive, so she made her way to the small commune kitchen of their residence's floor to get herself a glass of water. A small break from the loud music wouldn't hurt either.

 

Her ears were still buzzing when she entered the kitchenette and she stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted a girl crouched in front of the open fridge, her ass beautifully showcased in what appeared to be very tight leather pants. Laura gulped slowly and tried not to stare. The next second, the girl got back up bringing something to her lips and taking a big bite followed by a low moan.

 

Now that she was standing and half facing her, Laura could tell that the girl in front of her didn't just have a nice bottom, she was really beautiful in her entirety. She had long dark hair, a long delicate nose, brown eyes that seemed to shine beneath long lashes and a sharp alluring jaw. Laura swallowed nervously and hesitated until her eyes focused on exactly _what_ the girl was eating. Her eyebrows shot up in outrage when she did because it just so happened that the girl had taken one of the cupcakes Perry and she had spent most of the afternoon baking. The cupcakes had been meant as a post countdown surprise, but here was this stranger eating one of them with no care in the world.

 

"Hey!" Laura shouted, suddenly out of her stupor. "What do you think you're doing?!"

 

The girl turned around fully, still chewing her mouthful. When her eyes settled on Laura's form, a sly smirk appeared on her lips. If Laura hadn't been so annoyed she'd have let her brain accept that the girl was even prettier now that she could see her properly.

 

"Well hello, cutie," the girl greeted, her voice deliciously low and sultry. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked, her eyes travelling excruciatingly slowly up and down Laura's body.

 

The small girl fidgeted a bit in her dress. She was feeling a tad over dressed in comparison to the other girl's leather pants and loose white t-shirt.

 

"Yes, you can actually," Laura replied stiffly, willing her brain to ignore just _how_ pretty the other girl was. "You can tell me _why_ you're eating that cupcake!"

 

The stranger lifted her eyebrows and looked at the pastry in her hand.

 

"Because I'm hungry?" she replied with a shrug.

"Can't you _see_ what year is written on them?! Surely you realise they're only meant to be eaten _after_ midnight," Laura explained.

"Are they now?" the brunette replied with a sneer. "And is the world order shattered because I had one?" she asked derisively.

 

Laura seethed before replying through gritted teeth.

 

"They're not even _yours_!"

 

The stranger chuckled and Laura felt her cheeks redden in anger. Who the hell did that girl think she was? Somehow, the brunette's attractiveness no longer mattered.

 

"I'm going to make a wild guess here and say that they're yours," she said with laugh. "And you'd be so cruel as to deny me this sole one? It looked like there were enough to share, but if you want to keep them all to yourself..."

"That's not-" Laura stuttered. "They _a_ _re_ for sharing! But only _after_ the countdown!" she repeated.

"And now I've gone an eaten _one_!" the girl exclaimed sarcastically. "How tragic an event that must be for you."

 

Laura almost growled in anger.

 

"Look, I don't know who you think you are," she said angrily. "But _normal_ people don't just take things that don't belong to them without asking!"

 

The stranger laughed and started walking closer to Laura. The small girl looked at her approach, her stomach lurching nervously even through her anger.

 

"Well I do apologise," the girl said without an ounce of regret in her voice. "I think I'll go now though, seeing as you clearly need a minute to gather yourself after such an affront on my part. Try not to cry your beautiful little eyes out over the loss of your pastry," she continued, her annoying smirk still firmly on her lips.

 

Laura glared at the brunette, her teeth and fists clenched tightly. The girl looked at her up and down leisurely one last time before chuckling and walking away.

 

"Happy New Year cupcake," she said before disappearing beyond the door.

 

Laura stood still, in shock and anger for perhaps a full minute before springing into action. She could _not_ believe that girl. She didn't think she'd ever met anyone as disrespectful in her entire life.

 

When Laura walked back into the party, she searched the room for Perry. She was in dire need to bitch to her best friend about her kitchen encounter. She spotted the curly haired girl within seconds and started walking towards her.

 

She almost stopped in her tracks halfway through when she saw right next to Perry, talking with an overexcited Lafontaine, none other than the girl she'd _just_ argued with in the kitchen.

 

"No way..." Laura mumbled under her breath as she got closer.

"Laura! There you are!" Lafontaine exclaimed when they spotted the approaching girl.

 

Laura walked slowly, her eyes narrowing as the brunette turned to look at her and a condescending smirk graced her lips.

 

"L, this is Carmilla! Carm, this is Laura!" Lafontaine introduced them happily.

 

Carmilla's smirk only grew and Laura tried not to scream.

 

"Well well cupcake, I didn't think I'd see you again so soon," Carmilla teased.

 

In another context, another world, maybe Laura could have found it cute. Lafontaine hadn't lied after all, Carmilla _was_ incredibly gorgeous. The small girl could concede that at least. In another world, her smirk might have been charming and her use of a nickname endearing, but in this world, it only added to Laura's irritation.

 

"You two know each other?" Lafontaine asked looking confused.

 

Laura opened her mouth to answer, but Carmilla beat her to it.

 

"I've only had the pleasure to get acquainted with her baked sweets, actually."

"You've had a cupcake?" Lafontaine said, their head tilting comically.

"Indeed, they were exquisite," Carmilla said way more polite than she'd been moments ago.

 

Laura wanted to rip her head off.

 

"You let her have a cupcake?" Perry wondered confusedly. "But I thought you wanted to wait until _after_ the countdown before distributing them," she finished innocently.

"Oh did she?" Carmilla replied painting a surprised expression on her face. "Dear me, I feel all the more special now."

 

Lafontaine's smile brightened exponentially as Laura's eyes were reduced to slits.

 

"I knew you guys would get along great!" their ginger friend grinned dopily before grabbing Perry's hand. "Come on Per, let's leave those two to get better acquainted!"

"Laf wait!" Laura tried to stop her, but to no avail. "What the heck is wrong with you?!" she asked turning on Carmilla disbelievingly.

 

The brunette shrugged as she looked at her nails, the picture perfect of boredom.

 

"Just having a bit of a laugh cutie, don't get so worked up," Carmilla eventually explained with another shrug. "Anyway, enjoy the rest of the evening," she finished before turning around and starting to walk away.

 

Laura's angry frown turned to confusion.

 

"Wait, where are you going?!" she asked after the other girl.

"Huh... to mingle?" Carmilla replied uncertainly.

"That's it? You're not even going to talk to me? I can't believe you!"

 

Carmilla looked genuinely confused, her eyebrows knitted together and Laura felt the need to explain herself.

 

"You know, although you're _hours_ late, you're technically my date tonight. Besides, Lafontaine worked hard to make this set up happen so the least you could do to repay them is give me the courtesy of a 5 minute chat!"

 

Carmilla stayed silent for a few seconds before attempting a reply.

 

"Well after your little kitchen fit, I figured this set up would clearly be a bust, but if you-"

"Oh no! It _is_ a bust. But out of politeness and respect for Lafontaine, I think we should still, I don't know, _try_ to have one pleasant conversation," Laura interrupted.

 

Carmilla sighed loudly and rolled her eyes before shrugging.

 

"Well that sounds like a magnificent waste of time, but if you insist..." she grumbled.

 

Laura shook her head and took a long breath. She had a feeling this would require patience.

 

"So... you don't go to this school, I think," Laura halfheartedly asked.

"Nope," Carmilla replied simply.

 

The small girl waited for a beat or two, but when it was clear that the brunette wasn't going to say anything else she sighed loudly.

 

"So, what are you in? What do you study?"

"I'm doing a major in philosophy and a minor in business administration."

"Really?" Laura found herself replying, her annoyance with the other girl momentarily forgotten in favour of her curiosity. "They're really different fields, why the two?"

 

Carmilla shrugged dismissively.

 

"Sounded like fun," she answered vaguely.

 

Laura nodded and shook her head, her annoyance coming back a bit, but mostly just tiredness. It was getting late and clearly Carmilla had no interest in talking to her whatsoever. If she didn't want to bother, Laura wouldn't either.

 

"You know what, forget it, just go mingle and enjoy the rest of your night," Laura said with an exasperated sigh.

"Already? But it's not been 5 minutes. How improper and impolite. Poor Lafontaine will feel used," Carmilla said sarcastically, managing to get Laura angry once again.

"Forget it Carmilla," the small girl snapped before walking away quickly, but not quickly enough not to hear the other girl's laughter as she went.

 

What an ass, Laura thought. She really couldn't understand how Lafontaine had ever thought they'd be a great match.

 

If that had been the end of the night, Laura thought now as she walked towards Perry and Lafontaine's house, Carmilla and she might have salvaged some kind of relationship. As it was, it hadn't been the end of the night.

 

When it had neared midnight, Laura had gone to the kitchen to fetch an expensive bottle of champagne she'd bought for Perry, Lafontaine, herself and potentially Carmilla to drink on the countdown, but hadn't managed to find it. She'd looked everywhere, until she'd been certain it wasn't in the kitchen. She had then gone back to the party to try and see if someone had stolen her bottle. It had taken her several minutes to search the entire room and it was only as the countdown to midnight almost came to an end that Laura had finally found what she was looking for. And of course it had just happened to be opened in Carmilla's hands as the girl made seduction eyes at some random dumb blonde in her arms. Just as the countdown had reached zero, the brunette had taken a long sip before grabbing the blonde by the waist and connecting their lips forcefully. Laura had turned around feeling utterly humiliated.

 

Their relationship had never quite recovered after that. Besides, in the years that had passed, Carmilla had never really stopped teasing her. To make matters worse, she still called her 'cupcake' as if she wasn't aware that it annoyed Laura to no end.

 

Still, regardless of how much Laura preferred it when Carmilla wasn't around, she wasn't going to let the girl ruin her evening with her friends. Ever since they'd all left college and started working, they'd been busier and hanging out had become a lot harder. Laura figured it was the effect of growing up, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

 

Laura shot a look at her phone to check the time and gasped a little. It was later than she'd expected and she still needed to make a stop to buy some wine for dinner. She'd been walking a bit slowly and now she was worried she'd be late. She always tended to do that when she got lost in reminiscing. She picked up the pace, bending her head as the wind caught her off guard and her eyes started watering.

 

Soon enough, she spotted the liquor store in the distance and even sooner she was walking inside. She huffed as the warm air made her skin prickle. She checked the time again and bit her bottom lip nervously. Perry and Lafontaine's house wasn't too far from here, but she knew that by the time she'd buy the wine, paid and walked all the way over there, she'd be late. And she _hated_ being late.

 

Mumbling under her breath, she speed walked to the Italian wine section. As she turned the corner though she almost knocked into somebody.

 

"Oh my god I'm so sorry!" she said automatically, before her eyes had time to properly focus on the person.

 

When they did, her heart dropped a little. With her pair of ripped jeans, her leather jacket, her biker boots and her ever so aggravating smirk, there was no mistaken who Laura had just ran into. 

 

"Didn't know you were that excited to see me creampuff," the familiar voice of Carmilla greeted her.

"Hey, Carmilla," Laura replied coolly. "What are you doing here?"

 

Carmilla raised one eyebrow at her before lifting the bottle of wine she was carrying.

 

"Same as you I suspect," she shrugged.

 

Laura nodded.

 

"Okay, well, see you later I guess," she said before walking past the brunette.

 

Carmilla didn't reply and when Laura turned around to look at what she was doing, she saw that Carmilla had walked to the cash register. Laura refocused her attention on the wine selection, trying to ignore the fact that her mood was already affected by her small encounter with the other girl. She didn't know why it was that that girl always managed to get her in a mood, but it seemed like not knowing why didn't change the fact that she could.

 

A minute later, Laura walked to the cash register, noticing unwittingly that Carmilla was nowhere to be seen. She rolled her eyes. Of course the girl had left without saying goodbye.

 

When Laura walked outside though, she was proven wrong. Carmilla was there, leaning on the hood of her car as she smoked leisurely. Laura buried her face in her scarf before frowning in disdain.

 

"You're gonna catch your death, you know that right?" she told the girl before she could stop herself.

 

Carmilla smirked at her, her eyes twinkling in amusement. Laura gritted her teeth.

 

"Am I?" she said, her voice thick with smoke. "Will you hold my hand on my death bed?" she asked.

 

A teenage girl that had been passing close by with her friends giggled at Carmilla's words. The brunette sent her a seductive grin and a wink in return and the teen blushed hard. Laura cleared her throat and Carmilla shot her a look.

 

"What's the problem, cupcake? Not paying you enough attention?" Carmilla asked teasingly.

 

Laura rolled her eyes again.

 

"You wish," she said stiffly before starting to walk off. "I'll see you at Laf and Perry's," she muttered.

"You're going to be late," Carmilla observed, making Laura stop walking.

"Even more so if I keep chit chatting with you," she replied, turning around to send Carmilla a pointed look.

 

It was the brunette's turn to roll her eyes. She threw her cigarette on the ground and stood up properly.

 

"I'll give you a ride," she said with a shrug.

"Excuse me?" Laura replied in surprise.

 

Carmilla smirked and shook her head.

 

"Please tell me your oh so vast journalist vocabulary includes the word _ride_."

"It does!"

"Then hop in, we don't have all night," the brunette said, walking to the side of her car.

"What's the catch?" Laura asked suspiciously. "Why are you being nice?"

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.

 

"If you weren't such a pain when I _am_ nice, maybe I'd try it more often. Now fucking get in or I'm leaving you on the curb and you can damn well walk."

"Gee, thanks. You're making the prospect of this ride with you very lovely."

"Oh forget it!" Carmilla snapped, opening her door and getting in.

 

Laura was taken aback for half a second before she sprung forward.

 

"Carm, wait!" she yelled, running to the passenger side of the car.

 

The brunette didn't look at her, but didn't leave either, so Laura opened the door and sat down. Without saying anything, Carmilla reared the car backwards and departed. After a few silent seconds Laura sighed.

 

"Thanks," she mumbled grumpily.

"Don't mention it," Carmilla replied without looking at her.

 

***

 

Only a few minutes later, they were parking right outside their friend's house. Laura exited the car and slammed the door closed. Carmilla soon followed, grabbing the bottle of wine she'd bought and a bag from the back seat. They walked together in silence to the door and somehow Laura felt awkward. She rang the doorbell and seconds later a grinning Lafontaine was opening the front door.

 

"Hey! Did you guys arrive together?!" they exclaimed looking surprised, but pleased.

 

Laura hugged herself closer and frowned.

 

"I ran into creampuff at the liquor store and she just begged me for a ride," Carmilla replied, walking inside.

"I did _not_!" Laura shot back following. "You _offered_!"

"Yeah? So you didn't run after me, did you? 'Carm, wait!'" Carmilla imitated.

 

Laura groaned angrily.

 

"That wasn't- That's not even the proper context!" she defended, her cheeks reddening as Carmilla giggled. "Urgh! You're _such_ an ass!" she snapped, before taking off her boots and walking further into the house.

 

She heard Carmilla continue to laugh and what sounded like Lafontaine telling her off. She closed her eyes half a second to compose herself and when she opened them again, Perry was staring at her.

 

"Did I hear correctly? You came in with Carmilla?" the girl asked her, tilting her head slightly.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and shook her head.

 

"Please, let's not talk about this or I may end up throttling her."

"Oh my!" Perry said with raised eyebrows. "It's one of those nights, then?"

 

Laura shook her head and grabbed her friend for a much needed hug. Perry hugged her lightly, the awkward way she always did and Laura giggled.

 

"It's good to see you," she told Perry once she'd released her.

"It is," Perry replied with a big grin. "Oh and you too Carmilla!" she said as she stepped away from Laura to greet her other guest.

"Hey Per," the brunette grinned politely, kissing the curly haired girl on the cheek. "Brought you this," she said extending a wine bottle.

"Oh thank you! Is that-? Oh Carmilla! You brought my favourite!" Perry exclaimed happily.

 

Carmilla half shrugged and graced Perry with a polite smile and Laura narrowed her eyes with a head shake. How was it that the girl could be this gracious and kind with Perry and yet act the complete opposite with her?

 

"I also brought dessert," Carmilla said, her smile turning a bit impish as she shot Laura a look.

"Oh darling you didn't have to!" Perry thanked her, taking the bag.

"It was no trouble," Carmilla assured.

 

The four of them walked into the kitchen and Perry set the bag and the bottle of wine on the counter. She reached inside and took out a cake. Instantly her smile dropped a bit and she, too, shot Laura a worried look.

 

"Is that...?" Perry asked tentatively.

"A coconut cake? Yes indeed," the brunette said, finishing the sentence.

"Of course it is," Laura deadpanned.

"Is there a problem sweetcheeks?"

"You know damn well that I hate coconut."

"Do you? Oh well, no dessert for you I guess," Carmilla said in a faux apologetic voice.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and scoffed.

 

"You're such a child," she muttered and Carmilla blew her a kiss in response.

 

Beside them, Lafontaine and Perry exchanged a look. It was going to be long night.

 

***

 

If Perry and Lafontaine had known just _how_ long it was going to be, they might have changed their mind about putting their plan into motion. Or rather, Perry would have pushed her fiancé to reconsider or at least pick another night. As it was though, she hadn't and they'd endured hours of bickering between Laura and Carmilla.

 

It was almost comical in a way, Perry thought. Because if you didn't know better, the two girls could actually look like a married couple because of the way they fought all the time. It was incessant on nights like these, a continuous flow of back and forth jibes.

 

Sometimes, the digs were funny, but sometimes they were downright annoying. On this particular night, it was sadly leaning towards the second category. Lafontaine and she had spent most of the night sending each other exasperated looks and neither girl had even noticed. Ironically, they were both too caught up with each other to notice much.

 

It had taken forever before Perry had managed to sit everyone in the living room with glasses of wine. Both she and Lafontaine had been relieved though when the change of scenery had seemed to calm down Laura and Carmilla. Perry had sat them strategically- meaning as far away of each other as possible- and the distance had seemed to help. The laughter had come back and it felt more genuine than before, less tense. After some time, their two guests had even managed to interact in a polite and semi friendly manner.

 

Perhaps it was because of this improvement that Lafontaine had sent Perry a look that could only mean that they were ready to put their crazy plan into motion. Perry sighed softly and closed her eyes for a second, preparing herself for the worst. She'd been enjoying the peace and somehow she had a feeling Lafontaine's announcement would soon disrupt it.

 

"So, thank you guys for coming tonight," Lafontaine said happily.

"Ah, finally," Carmilla grinned. "I'm guessing we're about to learn the true purpose of this lovely get together."

"What are you even talking about?" Laura interrupted with an eye roll.

"Come on creampuff, you seriously don't think they went through the trouble of inviting us here together because they just _love_ hearing you complain about me for hours on end, do you? Surely, there was another purpose," the brunette explained with a shrug.

 

Laura frowned and opened her mouth to fire back a reply, but Lafontaine interrupted her.

 

"Actually!" they shouted nervously. "Carm's right."

 

Carmilla wriggled her eyebrows triumphantly at Laura while the other girl pouted.

 

"Per and I have sort of an announcement to make," Lafontaine continued ignoring her friends.

"Oh my god!" Laura exclaimed excitedly. "Per, are you pregnant?!"

 

Perry choked on her wine and Lafontaine looked a bit pale. Carmilla giggled in the background.

 

"I'm guessing not," Laura muttered shyly, her cheeks reddening.

"Yeah, no..." Lafontaine confirmed. "But huh, Perry got a promotion at work! You're looking at the new project manager for the eastern district!"

"Oh my God Perry! Congratulations!" Laura screamed happily, jumping out of her seat to hug her friend.

 

Perry smiled shyly and hugged her back.

 

"Congratulations Perry," Carmilla said with a genuine smile as Laura let go of the curly haired girl.

"Thank you, thank you both,"

 

Laura sat back down in her chair, a huge smile on her face and Carmilla cleared her throat.

 

"Not to be rude but-"

"Tss," Laura scoffed, interrupting her. "Like that's ever stopped you before," she mumbled with an eye roll.

 

The brunette glared at her for a second before turning her attention back on Perry and Lafontaine.

 

"As I was saying, not to be rude but, as wonderful a news as this is, I'm guessing it's not why you've invited both me and Lauronica Mars here at the same time. You could have told us separately."

 

Lafontaine smiled and shook her head.

 

"Alright, alright, there's more," they said. "Like Carmilla said, Perry's promotion is definitely wonderful news, but it's left us with a bit of a problem. A problem we were hoping you guys could solve for us."

"What problem?!" Laura asked worriedly.

"As you guys may remember, Perry and I had booked a 2 weeks LGBT cruise through the Caribbean."

 

They stopped and when both Laura and Carmilla nodded, they continued.

 

"Well we were set to leave next Monday, problem is... that's exactly when Per's new position starts."

"Oh no!" Laura exclaimed empathically. "So you guys can't go? But you were so looking forward to it!"

"I don't understand," Carmilla said, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "What exactly do you want _us_ to do about it?"

"Well, as Laura pointed out, we indeed can't go," Lafontaine continued slowly.

 

Perry felt her heart beat accelerate. This was it.

 

"And since the departure is really soon, we're too late to get a refund on our tickets-"

"What?! No way!" Laura exclaimed.

"Jesus, cupcake! Let them finish!" Carmilla groaned.

"So we were thinking!" Lafontaine said a bit louder to stop the glaring contest between their two friends. "Since we can't get our money back and we can't go... We figured that huh... _You_ guys could go... You know, instead of us," they finished with a hopeful smile.

 

For all their usual respective wits, both Laura and Carmilla were stunned into silence at Lafontaine's words. A bit of awkwardness settled in the room as Perry and them waited for a reaction. Eventually, though they did snap out of it.

 

"Wait," Laura said slowly. "You want _us_ to go, _together_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes!" Lafontaine exclaimed.

 

There was another moment of silence and then out of nowhere, both Laura and Carmilla started laughing, _hard_. Perry exchanged an alarmed look with Lafontaine as their smile fell. They waited silently for their friends to stop laughing, unsure of what to say exactly.

 

"Hang on," Laura eventually said, her laughter subsiding. "You guys are actually serious?!" she asked bewildered. "You genuinely want _us_ to go on a cruise _together_ for 2 weeks?!"

"Well, yeah!"

"You're insane!" Laura exclaimed.

"Why?! Why is that insane?" Lafontaine demanded, a bit defeated.

"We can barely stand each other one _evening_ , imagine 2 weeks!" Laura announced.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but cupcake here has a point. I'm not sure how well we'd fare in close proximity for such a long amount of time..." Carmilla admitted.

 

Lafontaine looked at them both completely stunned.

 

"Are you guys kidding me?!" they said exasperated.

"Darling..." Perry tried to stop them, but it was no use.

"We're offering you a cruise through the Caribbean for _free_  and you guys don't want it because you'll have to be _roommates_?!"

 

Both Laura and Carmilla glanced at each other at their friend's words and they had the decency to look a bit sheepish.

 

"I mean... I don't want to sound ungrateful..." Laura began, but Lafontaine soon cut her off.

"But you are! You both are!"

"Laf..." Carmilla said, surprisingly coming to Laura's rescue. "It's nothing personal. The trip _would_ be great, but I really can't imagine spending 14 days with this one breathing down my neck."

"Oh yes, of course! Make it sound like _I'm_ the problem! As if I'd have any desire to spend 14 days with you making snarky comments at everything I do!" Laura snapped angrily.

"They're just _jokes_! Jesus, creampuff, if you weren't so uptight you might actually _laugh_ once in a while," Carmilla snapped right back with an eye roll.

"Did you just call me uptight?!" Laura thundered.

"Humm, let me think," the brunette said, bringing a hand to her chin sarcastically. "Oh yes! I believe that's what I _just_  said."

"You think you're so _funny_ , don't you?" Laura scoffed angrily.

 

Carmilla was about to answer back, but was interrupted before her words had time to make it out of her mouth.

 

"Okay shut up! Both of you just _shut up_!" Lafontaine screamed over them.

 

Laura and Carmilla were both stunned into silence for the second time of the night.

 

"This little bickering dance you guys like to indulge in has _got_ to stop!" Lafontaine said a bit more calmly. "Because it has officially as of now reached the height of ridiculousness. And... I've got to tell you guys, Per and I are sick of it," they said, turning to look at Perry for support.

 

The curly haired girl's eyes widened at the mention of her name. She did _not_ want Lafontaine to bring her into their scheming, but at the same time, her fiancé wasn't wrong. They were both sick of their friends' behaviours.

 

"Carm, you're my best friend and L you're Perry's. We love you both and we don't want to have to always choose between the two of you who to invite when and where. It's silly and childish and frankly, we've had enough. Can't you guys just work out your issues? And what better place than on a holiday cruise to do it? L, you've always said you wanted to travel as much as possible and I know it's a cruise and not your favourite kind of travelling, but you'll most definitely be able to go on islands and meet the locals and do your thing," Lafontaine said looking at Laura with gleaming eyes.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip, a soft smile forming despite it. It made Lafontaine smile even brighter and they turned to Carmilla.

 

"And Carm, I know you need a break from work, okay? Why not take it on a boat where the girls are definitely queer and bikini clad?" they said with a wriggle of their eyebrows.

 

Carmilla chuckled and shook her head, a smirk staying on her lips.

 

"See?! Now you're starting to _really_ think about what you were both ready to pass up and for what? Because you'll have to share a room? Because you're not each other's favourite person? Come on! I know tonight's been bad, but you do realise sometimes you guys can actually converse, right? Besides, the boat is huge. If you don't want to see each other, you don't exactly have to," Lafontaine finished, their voice getting slightly high-pitched at the end of their speech.

 

Perry raised an eyebrow at her lover, but neither Laura nor Carmilla noticed.

 

"I _guess_ I could always find out if I can get a few days off work..." Laura mumbled very softly after a few seconds. "And if it's just to sleep... I mean, perhaps we won't have time to annoy each other," she continued, looking uncertainly at Carmilla.

"Right," the brunette nodded. "Besides, I'm sure I'll manage to, huh, _talk_ my way into finding different quarters on most nights," she reasoned.

 

Laura clenched her jaw and swallowed the scoff she felt coming. Lafontaine took this as a good sign.

 

"Now you guys are talking! See? When you actually _try_ , you can get along!"

 

This time Laura scoffed loudly and Carmilla rolled her eyes.

 

"Don't push it, Laf," Carmilla muttered.

"Okay, but, will you guys take it? Will you take the cruise?"

 

Laura and Carmilla turned to look at each other. They stared for a few seconds, both seemingly considering their options seriously. Lafontaine waited with barely concealed excitement as Perry tried not to flinch from the tension.

 

"Okay, yes," Laura eventually spoke, looking at Lafontaine. "You're right, this is a great opportunity and it would be a waste and foolish to turn it down."

"Aw, cupcake, I knew you always secretly wished to spend more time with me," Carmilla teased softly.

 

Laura rolled her eyes, but the other girl's words had been gentle enough not to prompt a rise out of her.

 

"Yes!" Lafontaine exclaimed victoriously.

 

Their friends looked at them curiously, but Laf didn't care much.

 

"This is going to be great, you guys are not going to regret it! Okay, let me tell you the details..."

 

Perry listened as her fiancé started telling their friends excitedly about everything they knew about the cruise and the islands the boat would stop at. She couldn't quite believe that they'd done it, couldn't quite believe that they'd convinced Laura and Carmilla to actually go on a cruise together. She was pleased, in a way, pleased because her lover looked so _happy_ about the apparent success of their enterprise and Perry was pleased for them. Yet, Perry couldn't find it in herself to be as happy as Lafontaine about the outcome of the evening. She couldn't bring herself not to worry. It wasn't as if she didn't have any reasons to worry either.

 

The evening continued regardless and soon enough it was time for their guests to leave.

 

"I'll have to check with my boss... Make sure I can get the days off, but I think it shouldn't be too much of a problem," Laura said as they walked to the front door.

"Can I go without her if she can't come?" Carmilla joked, chuckling when Laura punched her lightly on the shoulder.

 

For once, the exchange was actually funny and harmless and Perry's hopes lifted just a bit.

 

"Alright, I'm off," Carmilla said, her leather jacket on her shoulders. "Thanks for dinner Perry."

"Yes! Thank you so much! Everything was delicious," Laura said with a bright smile. "And I guess, thanks for the trip. Are you guys _sure_ you can't get a refund."

"Quite certain, unfortunately," Perry confirmed.

 

Both Laura and Carmilla nodded before turning to the door and stepping outside.

 

"D'you want a ride home, cupcake?" Carmilla asked as they started walking down the front steps.

 

Laura looked at the brunette as if she'd grown a second head, before biting her bottom lip and nodding shyly.

 

"Yeah, actually, that'd be really nice of you."

 

Lafontaine closed the front door, an enormous grin on their face.

 

"Oh it is _so_ on!" they said happily, facing Perry.

 

Perry gave her a tiny smile because her fiancé's ecstatic expression just had that effect on her, but she couldn't return it fully, the worry in her chest still too present.

 

"Aren't you a bit concerned, darling?" Perry asked seriously.

"About what?"

"About how they'll react when they find out, well, _the rest_ ," the woman said matter-of-factly.

 

Lafontaine's smile turned into a smirk and they shrugged.

 

"Well, _yeah_ ," they admitted. "But when they do, it'll be too late for them to do anything about it, won't it?"

 

Perry sighed softly.

 

"I hope you're right," she said unconvincingly.

"Of course I am!" Lafontaine answered confidently. "I'm always right!"

 

They weren't, not by a long shot, but, just this once, Perry was hoping they would be. Hope was better than worry anyway.


	3. Chapter 2: Often Go Awry...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is for Amanda. Especially for her :-P Because she asked nicely and well I just couldn't say no, could I? There you go cupcake ;-)

**Chapter 2: Often Go Awry  
**

 

It had to be said, Laura was _giddy_. It was a bit funny though, if someone had told her a week ago that the source of her excitement would be the prospect of two weeks spent in the company of one Carmilla Karnstein, she would have laughed in their face. Of course, Carmilla wasn't exactly the real source of her happiness- in fact, Laura would have been even happier if the broody girl hadn't been included at all- but it was undeniable that the girl was linked nonetheless.

 

Laura, always the optimistic, had decided not to let that small detail put a damper on her joy. Besides, things had turned out so wonderfully well for her that she doubted even the snarkiest of Carmilla's jab could ruin her mood.

 

Yes, things had turned out really well indeed. She'd been nervous at first because even if she'd agreed to go on the trip, she still needed talk to her boss about it. After graduation, Laura had moved on to work for a local newspaper as a journalist and although she'd been working there for a few years now, she still didn't have a very high end position. She'd taken the chance regardless because, as her father had always told her, she could never know anything for certain if she didn't ask.

 

So she had asked and her boss had not only given her the days off, he'd also given her a golden opportunity. As it turned out, the management had been thinking about adding a trip review column in the travel section of the Sunday paper, but they didn't have the money to pay one of their regular columnist to do it. So when Laura had arrived with her cruise and need for days off, her boss had immediately jumped on the opportunity. He'd asked the small girl right then if she'd be interested in writing a little series of articles about her cruise, something entertaining and original, he'd said. Laura had been shocked, but not so much so that she hadn't managed to accept right away.

 

Her boss had been ecstatic and so had she. He'd told her that they'd pay for her days off at her regular salary (which was obviously a bit of a rip off, but Laura wasn't complaining) and if they liked what she wrote, there was a chance for her to get a more permanent kind of deal.

 

An opportunity like that one was what Laura had been waiting for. She could already imagine herself travelling for the paper and although trip reviews wasn't exactly what she aspired to do in the long run, it was a great start.

 

So, in light of all this, Laura really didn't have any reason to be anything but ecstatic. She'd called Perry to tell her the news and her friend had been extremely happy for her as well. She'd then talked to Lafontaine who had told her that Carmilla had also gotten her days off. It was after that that Laura had done something she'd never thought she would and had asked Lafontaine for Carmilla's phone number. Her ginger friend had loved that demand a bit too much.

 

"It's to plan our departure," Laura had explained stiffly.

"Yeah, sure," Laf had shot back half laughing.

"It is! I mean, we need to get to Fort Lauderdale to take the boat right? Might as well go together. I mean, once we're _on_ the thing we can avoid each other, but it just feels silly not to get there together and all," she'd continued as pragmatic as always.

"Uh huh."

"Just give it to me!" Laura had snapped and Lafontaine had laughed loudly.

 

They'd relented eventually though and Laura had been able to call Carmilla. That conversation had luckily went a lot better than the small girl had feared it would. Somehow, the brunette, after the initial surprise of receiving a phone call from Laura, had been nice enough and even somewhat polite. They'd agreed to travel to the pier together and that was why, at 5 o'clock on the morning of their departure, Laura was waiting anxiously in the living room of her apartment for Carmilla to arrive.

 

Her luggage was ready by the door, a backpack neatly placed on top of it. Laura had her jacket in her arms as she sat crossed legged on her couch. She checked her watch and sighed a bit. Carmilla was due to pick her up any minute and the small girl would have been lying if she said she wasn't nervous that she'd be late. It wasn't as if the brunette didn't have a reputation for it. On any other day, Laura wouldn't have waited so eagerly, but they _did_ have a plane to catch and it wasn't as if they could just take the next one.

 

Laura needn't have worried though because at 5 minutes passed 5, Carmilla's car was stopping in front of her apartment. The small girl smiled happily and grabbed her stuff. She almost skipped to the car and gave Carmilla what was probably the biggest smile she'd _ever_ given her in her entire life when she spotted her behind the wheel. The girl who was wearing a black beanie and large sunglasses gave her a curt nod in response and popped the trunk of the car open. Laura quickly placed her luggage and backpack in before slipping into the passenger seat. She had two travel mugs in her hands and once she was sat, she turned to Carmilla with what she hoped was a genuine smile and extended one of the mugs towards her.

 

"Good morning!" Laura said happily. "I made coffee. I figured it was early and, well, I wanted to thank you for picking me up!"

 

Carmilla grabbed the drink from the smaller girl's hand hesitantly.

 

"It's black. I think that's how you drink your coffee, right? I mean I've seen you take coffees at Perry and Lafontaine's and if I remembered correctly you never add anything to it. But if I'm wrong I can always run back inside and add something. It's not like you're _t_ _hat_ late so there's still time and-"

"Jesus C _hrist_ creampuff," Carmilla interrupted her, bringing two fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Not that the sound of your voice isn't a complete _delight_ this early in the morning, but I have a major headache right now. Silence would be very welcome just about now."

 

Laura's smile fell completely and a frown covered her features instead. She turned in her seat to face the front, crossed her arms and sighed. Of course Carmilla just _had_ to be grumpy and rude. Of course she needed to test Laura's patience as much as she could.

 

"Cupcake..." the brunette groaned sounding exasperated.

 

Laura narrowed her eyes and stubbornly kept her eyes in front of herself. She waited for Carmilla to start driving and when nothing happened, she continued to stare right in front of her. She wouldn't give the other girl the satisfaction of caving. She'd asked for silence, she'd get it.

 

Laura's thoughts were interrupted though when she felt a hand on her thigh. Before she could stop herself, her head snapped to look at Carmilla, her eyes wide. The brunette gave her a sly smirk.

 

"Thanks for coffee. Black is perfect," she said, her voice rough.

 

Then, she took her hand off and reared the car to life. The next second they were leaving and Laura was staring back in front of her, her cheeks slightly red.

 

***

 

They'd arrived to the airport in good time, both their coffees finished a long time ago. They hadn't talked on the ride and they hadn't talked either as they waited in line to check their bags.

 

By the time they were crossing into official international territory, Carmilla still hadn't said a single word to Laura since thanking her for coffee and the smaller girl was starting to get annoyed. They walked together to their departure gate and as soon as she spotted the seats, Carmilla made her way quickly, putting earphones in and seating with her arms crossed and her sunglasses still well in place.

 

Laura stared at her in disbelief, feeling her temper rise. She walked to the brunette and pulled off her earphones roughly.

 

"Are you serious right now?!" Laura exclaimed.

 

She saw one of Carmilla's eyebrow rise between her beanie and her sunglasses.

 

"What?" the girl inquired in a bored tone.

"You haven't said a word to me since we left my house! Are you actually planning on ignoring me for the entire trip?!"

"I thought you would rejoice. Far be it from me to think you'd actually want my undivided attention."

"I don't-" Laura started, stopping herself to sigh. "That's not what I meant!"

"If you say so," Carmilla said with a grin, leaning back into her chair. "If you're quite done, I was thinking of catching a nap just about now. I didn't get to sleep last night."

"Why not?" Laura asked before she could think better of it.

 

When she saw Carmilla smirk slyly in response she knew in that instant that she'd regret asking.

 

"Well if you _must_ know cupcake, I spent the night doing gymnastics," the brunette started seriously.

 

When Laura frowned in confusion, she smirked wider and continued.

 

"You know the kind of gymnastics that takes place between the sheets? I mean I'm sure you've heard about how great a gymnast I am, but going on for hours will drain even the best of us."

 

Laura blushed hard as Carmilla chuckled.

 

"Really I'm telling you sweetheart, my forearms are killing me, but, eh, if the girl's screams were an indicative, I think my talents were _very_ appreciated," she continued, almost purring.

 

Laura's cheeks burned even brighter. Carmilla's sex life was definitely not something she wanted to know about and the other girl knew it. It wasn't that Laura was a prude or anything, but she just didn't feel comfortable discussing this with the brunette. Especially not in an airport with old ladies turning around to look at them with shock written all over their faces. Of course, Carmilla was loving it all, Laura's embarrassment and the public attention.

 

"You're such a jerk," the small girl grumbled as she turned around and started walking away.

"Creampuff don't go!" Carmilla called after her through her chuckles. "I thought you wanted us to talk? Come back, we were just starting to bond!"

 

Laura turned around quickly to glare at the brunette, willing her to _stop_ screaming after her. She shook her head and huffed when she saw the other girl smirk victoriously and put her earphones back in.

 

Laura groaned and walked away thinking that perhaps it would actually be better if Carmilla did ignore her for the entire trip.

 

***

 

Laura had eventually walked back to their departure gate a while later. Carmilla had still been exactly where she'd left her, looking like she was sleeping, her arms still crossed, her left foot on her right knee. Laura had sat next to her almost reluctantly. She'd figured Carmilla wasn't sleeping when she'd seen her smirk at her arrival, but the brunette hadn't commented and Laura certainly hadn't talked to her.

 

They'd waited in silence until it had been time to board the plane and even after they had found their seats and settled themselves, they'd stayed quiet. To be honest, Laura was still a little angry at Carmilla and the other girl simply didn't seem to care. Just that in itself was enough to piss off the smaller girl even further.

 

Laura didn't know how long they spent sitting beside each other in silence, but it lasted a good while and Laura couldn't have been happier. For at least the first hour of the flight, Carmilla read as Laura watched the sky through the porthole even if she wasn't sitting beside it. If the brunette's silence had bothered her earlier, she now felt quite comfortable with it. After all, the other couldn't annoy her if she didn't speak.

 

Of course, Laura should have known the respite wouldn't last forever. It was on the second hour of the flight that Carmilla's insufferable personality had decided to make a comeback and Laura could have killed her for it.

 

It had started subtly, or at least, it had taken a while for the smaller girl to notice what the other girl was doing. She'd been too engrossed to notice actually because, after sky gazing for about an hour, Laura had started chatting with a middle aged woman sitting just across the aisle from her. The lady was nice and kind and also very talkative. With Laura's natural curiosity and the lady's willingness to share, it hadn't been long before the woman had started telling her about her entire life. She'd told her all about her ex-husband, how they'd met and how they'd fallen in love, all the way to how they'd fallen apart and eventually divorced.

 

It had started just as the woman was telling Laura about a particular fight, her voice slightly shaking. Carmilla had made a gagging noise and Laura had shot her a look, but the brunette had continued to read quietly so the smaller girl had brushed it off. Carmilla had continued making noises alternating between laughs and gag noises after that, but the smaller girl had just ignored her for the most part.

 

It was when the woman had continued her story and had started to cry in earnest that Laura had realised that Carmilla wasn't reacting to her book at all. She shot her an appalled look after the brunette snorted loudly.

 

"What?" Carmilla asked in a low voice when Laura continued to stare at her in disbelief. "That book's really something," she continued, a little smirk on her lips.

 

Laura glared at her and shot a look at the book in question.

 

"You're reading 'Meditations'!" Laura whispered angrily. "That's _not_ a funny book!"

"You'd be surprised. Descartes is quite the fellow," Carmilla answered with a shrug, her smirk still firmly on.

 

Laura decided not to pay her further attention after that. She had hoped Carmilla would stop, seeing as she'd gotten a rise out of Laura already, but of course, that was wishful thinking. When Laura's plane companion started telling the small girl about some weird dreams she'd been having since the divorce, Carmilla hummed the theme song of the x-files. Laura had never wanted to strangle the brunette more, especially when the woman's eyes glossed over and she excused herself and went to the bathroom.

 

"What is wrong with you?!" Laura snapped the second the woman was out of earshot.

"Oh come on! She thought she was being plagued because she divorced her husband! Do you know how idiotic that is?!" Carmilla defended.

"Are you kidding me?! Why do you even care?! She wasn't telling _you_ , was she?"

"No, but I _am_ just here and I had to suffer through it as well, didn't I?"

"Is your heart _that_ cold that you can't feel compassion at all?" Laura said, shaking her head in disgust.

"Don't be overdramatic creampuff, it's unbecoming," Carmilla scoffed, rolling her eyes.

 

The smaller girl wanted to continue to argue, but then the brunette turned her attention back to her book so Laura crossed her arms and huffed angrily and that was that.

 

***

 

The rest of the plane ride had been quiet and mostly without further incidents. Apart from when Carmilla had stolen the cookies from her lunch's tray when she'd gone to the bathroom, the other girl had pretty much behaved. It was better than nothing, Laura reckoned.

 

Besides, when they'd finally landed and stepped outside into the shinning sun, all her anger and resentment had seem to dissipate. It was hard to keep her bad mood when she could feel the heat on her skin and see a clear blue sky above her head. It was all that Laura needed to remind herself that in a few hours she was going to be on a cruise ship heading for two weeks of much needed holidays.

 

Even Carmilla couldn't stay completely indifferent to the good weather. She'd taken off her beanie and although her milky white skin seemed a bit amiss in hot Florida, there was a half smile on her lips and Laura had to admit that she looked great.

 

In no time at all, they found a taxi and hopped in happily.

 

"Where to ladies?"

"Uh, port everglades, pier terminal #25," Laura answered looking at their tickets.

 

Their cab driver squeaked happily and started asking them questions about their holidays to Laura's pleasure. Carmilla groaned next to her, but the smaller girl ignored her.

 

Nothing could ruin her mood, or so she thought.

 

Only a short 10 minutes or so later, their driver was dropping them off at the port. Laura paid him and thanked him earnestly as he wished them happy holidays.

 

Then, she turned to Carmilla.

 

"So..." she said softly. "Shall we?"

 

The brunette grinned and nodded and together they started to make their way towards their terminal. When they got there though, they stopped dead in their tracks.

 

Laura's heart jumped in her throat and her eyes widened.

 

"What the..." Carmilla muttered next to her.

"There's got to be a mistake..." Laura said shaking her head in disbelief. "This... this can't be..."

 

She grabbed their tickets, her fingers shaking.

 

"Are you sure it's really pier 25?" Carmilla asked without looking at her.

"I... yeah, that's what it says here... pier 25..." Laura confirmed. "But that... that has to be a mistake, right? I mean this can't-" she continued, interrupting herself to look worriedly at Carmilla.

 

The brunette looked at her as well, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. Then, together, they turned back to look at the ship that was currently docked at pier #25 and the large banner hanging from its main deck.

 

_Pied Piper Travel: LGBT Cruise_

_Exclusive Special; Couples only_

 

Laura gulped slowly as she looked around herself and, sure enough, there were couples everywhere, laughing and holding hands, walking merrily to check their luggage.

 

"This has got to be a joke... I mean, Per and Laf would have mentioned... I mean..." Laura mumbled uncomfortably.

"Would they?" Carmilla asked doubtfully and Laura gulped again.

 

She couldn't remember a time where she'd been more at a loss for words. She just didn't know what to think. Either this was a terrible mistake or Perry and Lafontaine had set them up for a horrible surprise, a surprise they were now pretty much stuck with.

 

"I... Let me call them," Laura said eventually. "I'm sure this is a misunderstanding..." she continued more for her own benefit than Carmilla's.

 

The brunette nodded next to her and continued to stare at the ship, her eyebrows furrowed. Clearly, she was just as pleased as Laura was by this new development.

 

The smaller girl pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Perry's number with trembling fingers. The connection was made instantly and as it started to ring, Laura put it on speaker phone. That brought Carmilla out of her daze and she turned to look at the object as well.

 

"Hello?" Perry's voice answered after a few seconds.

"Perry!" Laura exclaimed with relief. "Hi! It's Laura and uh Carmilla,"

"Hi girls," their friend greeted a bit shakily. "What a wonderful surprise..." she continued and somehow, Laura had a feeling that Perry didn't mean it one bit. "I believed you two would be on the ship by now..."

"Yeah well, that's sort of why we're calling," Laura explained, sending a nervous glance at Carmilla. "There seems to be a uh... little error here."

"Oh dear..." They heard Perry whisper. "Is there?" she asked them, her voice definitely trembling now.

"Yes," Laura replied firmly. "You _see_ our tickets say that our ship is supposed to be on pier 25 and well, we're standing in front of it right now and uh..."

"Is there no ship?" Perry asked.

"Oh there's a ship alright..." Carmilla shot back moodily.

 

Laura sent her a reproachful look to which the brunette answered with a shrug.

 

"Yes, there is indeed a ship, but Perry... it... It says on the ship that it's a cruise for _couples_. Couples-only actually so, I mean, it must be a mistake, right?" the smaller girl explained, her heart beating ridiculously fast.

 

They waited for a few seconds for Perry to reply, but when nothing came, Laura started to get increasingly nervous.

 

"I mean, it can't be _our_ cruise, right?" Laura continued when Perry remained silent after a few more seconds. "Because Carmilla and I _aren't_ a couple and although I understand that the cruise was initially for Lafontaine and yourself and you guys _are_ a couple, this has to be a mistake. I mean, you would have _told_ us if it was such a cruise, right? You would have mentioned it at the very least, right? Right Perry?"

 

When Perry didn't reply still, Laura and Carmilla exchanged a worried glance.

 

"Per?" Laura tried one last time.

 

She heard a sigh on the other side of the phone.

 

"I..." a hesitant Perry finally said. "It's... not a mistake..."

"What?!" Laura exclaimed loudly, picking up her phone and switching the speaker phone off.

 

Next to her Carmilla looked just as appalled. She withdrew her own phone from her pocket and started texting, her face twisted into an angry frown.

 

"What the f-frilly hell Perry?!" Laura half screamed through gritted teeth.

"Laura, I understand this must be a bit of a shock right now," Perry began, her voice levelled.

"A bit of a shock?! That's an understatement if I've ever heard one! Oh my God Per! You've set us up for a _couple_ cruise?! How could you do that?!"

"Laura honey, please breathe with me."

"I don't want to breathe Per, I want you to tell me why it is that you didn't tell us about this!"

"Oh Lord..." her friend muttered. "I..."

"How could you do this to me?!" Laura interrupted, feeling her throat constrict. "It was already bad enough that we had to room together and now... What are Carmilla and I supposed to do to get on that cruise?!"

 

The small girl couldn't believe it. She couldn't believe this was happening and by the look on Carmilla's face, neither could she. Her jaw was clenched and her knuckles almost white from gripping her phone tightly.

 

"Laura..." Perry muttered regretfully. "I'm sorry you're taking this so badly. I'm not sure how to explain this to you..."

"Really Per? That's it, that's all you have to say?" Laura shot back disbelievingly.

"I..." She heard her friend almost whimper, before a loud "Lafontaine!" rang through her phone.

 

Then, the small girl figured Perry had covered the receiver with her hand because she heard muted angry mumbles on the other side of the line, but couldn't decipher the words.

 

"Okay," Perry's voice came back after a moment. "Can you put your mobile on speaker phone honey? Lafontaine wants to address both you and Carmilla."

 

Laura frowned and opened her mouth to protest, but then the brunette walked next to her and the small girl relented.

 

" _Fine_ ," she snapped, doing as she'd been asked.

"Thank you," their friend's voice echoed. "Darling?"

"So uh, hi guys!" Lafontaine's voice came afterwards. "You both there?"

"Yes," the two girls answered together, glaring at each other briefly as they did.

"Good..." They said before inhaling deeply as if to give themselves courage. "So, uh... I think you two want an explanation,"

"Since it seems very improbable that you simply overlooked to tell us about this being a couple cruise, an explanation would be most welcome indeed," Carmilla replied stiffly.

"Right," Lafontaine sighed. "Listen guys, I can understand you're angry,"

"Oh really? Can you?" Carmilla cut them off, grumpily.

"D'you want that explanation or not?" Lafontaine shot back right away.

 

Carmilla frowned and crossed her arms at that, but didn't say anything back. Laura couldn't help grinning a little bit.

 

"That's what I thought," Lafontaine said smugly. "So as I was saying, we know how you guys have been working hard these past few years. You both have a lot of pressure on your shoulders and neither of you has been very good at taking some time off to relax. So we thought-"

"Hum hum!" They heard Perry clear her throat noisily.

"Alright, alright, _I_ thought it was about time you guys go on a holiday."

 

Lafontaine paused for a second and when neither Laura nor Carmilla interrupted, they continued.

 

"And well the opportunity of this cruise came along nicely and I thought 'why not'!"

"And you never thought at any point that it might be wise to _warn_ us that it was a couples' cruise?" Carmilla asked, trying hard to keep her voice as neutral as possible.

"Of course I didn't warn you!" Lafontaine exclaimed and Laura felt sure they'd rolled their eyes as they did. "If I had you wouldn't have gone!"

"So you _lied_ to us so we'd go on the cruise?!" Laura intervened.

"Well... I didn't _lie_ exactly. It really is a 14 days LGBT cruise across the Caribbean. I just... didn't mention the part about it being a couples' thing,"

"A lie by omission is still a lie!" the small girl argued virtuously.

"That's not the point," Lafontaine mumbled. "The point _is_ you guys needed the time off and the cruise presented itself! And honestly, I don't see what the big deal is!"

"You don't see what the big deal is?!" Laura repeated incredulously. "Perhaps the fact that we're most _definitely_ not a couple!" she continued narrowing her eyes at Carmilla.

"Oh come on! No one's asking you to be a _real_ couple!" Lafontaine argued. "You just have to... fake it a bit..."

"Define _a bit_ ," Carmilla demanded coldly.

"No one's asking you to sleep together or anything," their friend answered sounding a bit exasperated. "Just... try to act like you _like_ each other, perhaps?"

"Tough order," the brunette grumbled.

"Oh, stuff it!" Laura shot back instantaneously.

 

They heard both Lafontaine and Perry sigh on their end of the line.

 

"This all goes back to your silly little war," Lafontaine explained. "This wouldn't even be such a big deal if you guys weren't so adamant on disliking each other! And why? You aren't even _that_ different, if you only gave each other a chance I'm sure you could become friends," they continued optimistically.

"I am nothing like her!" Laura defended hotly.

"Geez, cupcake, say it like it's a sickness why don't you," Carmilla scoffed.

"Oh my god you two! Stop it! These constant digs are not helping!" Lafontaine scolded.

"Yes, I feel like if you would simply talk to each other a bit more," Perry suddenly contributed. "A lot of problems can be solved through good communication!"

"Yes! Exactly! Thank you honey," Lafontaine approved while Laura and Carmilla just glared at each other.

 

There was a beat or two of silence and then, Carmilla spoke up again.

 

"Suppose we do go along your little plan. What happens if the crew realizes that we're very much not a couple?"

"We got an incredibly good discount with this couple exclusive offer," Lafontaine explained right away. "So if you guys are busted for not being a couple, the cruise company will fine us for the amount we saved."

"Wonderful..." Carmilla muttered sarcastically.

 

More silence followed the question until eventually they heard Lafontaine sigh.

 

"Look guys, it's still the same cruise and it's still the same cool opportunity. The only thing that changes really is that you'll probably have to eat dinner together and spend at least some time together during the day. And I didn't think that'd be _such_ a big issue. I mean I thought I was dealing with adults here," Lafontaine shot them moodily. "But if that little inconvenience is too much for you to face then don't go on the damn cruise and be done with it. We won't _force_ you."

 

Carmilla and Laura eyed each other for a second before their friend spoke again.

 

"Anyway, the choice is yours. You've got your explanation so Per and I are gonna hang up now. You decide whatever you want to do," they finished a bit sadly.

"Yes, and remember girls, communication!" Perry added before they heard a click and the connection ended.

 

Both Laura and Carmilla remained silent after that for a moment. The smaller girl was staring at her phone, unwilling to look at Carmilla now that she knew they'd have to talk about the situation. She was still a bit shocked by that new development, in all honesty, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Could she pretend to be in a relationship with Carmilla? Could she do it to go on a free holiday? She wasn't sure. Just from the day they'd spent together, Laura already knew that the brunette could get on her nerves like no one else. How was she supposed to pretend _loving_ her of all things? Maybe it was safer for them to just call the whole project off and go home.

 

Laura had almost convinced herself to do just that when she remembered something and blanched. She _couldn't_ go home because she had a work assignment to do on the cruise. And she was completely and entirely screwed because that now meant that she'd _have_ to get on that cruise with Carmilla and pretend to be girlfriends.

 

Laura closed her eyes and groaned. It seemed her luck had finally run out.

 

"You know what, screw this," Carmilla said, breaking the smaller girl out of her thoughts.

 

Laura snapped her eyes open to see the brunette walking away from her.

 

"Wait!" she yelled in panic. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going home," Carmilla answered as she kept walking.

"I... but... Aren't we going to talk about this?!" Laura asked, jogging slightly to catch up with the other girl.

"Why? Clearly neither of us is fond of the idea and may I remind you I was promised a boat full of available girls? This changes everything."

"But... how about the cruise itself? Aren't you dying to visit all those cool islands?" Laura tried desperately.

"Well, it'll have to be some other time," Carmilla shrugged.

"How are you even going to get home? Our plane tickets back aren't for another 2 weeks!"

"I'm sure I can talk my way into getting them changed for today or tomorrow at the latest," the brunette dismissed still walking away.

 

Laura was quickly running out of ideas to convince Carmilla to stay and she was definitely freaking out now. She couldn't let the other girl leave. Her career depended on it.

 

"Carmilla wait!" she shouted, making the other girl stop and turn around with a frown. "Don't... don't go... please?" she continued uncertainly.

"What's with you?" the brunette asked. "It almost seems as if... you want to go on that cruise..."

"I... I do, actually..." Laura said, looking at the ground in front of her.

 

She was stupidly embarrassed, but it wasn't the time to let her pride rule her.

 

"Hang on... you want to go on that cruise and pretend to be a couple?" Carmilla repeated looking completely stunned.

 

Laura lifted her gaze, bit her bottom lip and shrugged.

 

"Well... yeah."

"Why?"

"I uh... I mean it's a great opportunity and uh... I've really been looking forward to travelling so..."

"Okay, you need to stop all this," Carmilla stopped her waving her hand to in front of the smaller girl. "Because I'm not buying any of it."

"Wh-what?" Laura almost whimpered.

"I'm not buying it. So either you tell me the truth or I walk out of here right this instant. Your choice."

 

Laura bit her bottom lip nervously and inhaled deeply.

 

"I need you okay?" she said, feeling her cheeks heat up when Carmilla raised a curious eyebrow at her statement. "Not- ugh... Look, my boss gave me the days off as an assignment. I... I need to write an article about the cruise. Something original... It's sort of a new thing the paper might want to do and well my boss decided to take a leap of faith and test me with it so I kind of _really_ need to get on that cruise because if I don't then I won't be able to write my article and I'll lose the best chance I've had since I've graduated to get closer to becoming a _real_ journalist," she explained.

 

Carmilla observed her for a few seconds after that and then, slowly, a smirk appeared on her lips.

 

"You _do_ need me indeed," she purred smugly.

 

Laura wanted to scream or at the very least roll her eyes but she refrained herself. This wasn't the time to antagonise the other girl.

 

"I do okay... I really really do. This means a lot to me and I... I'd be forever grateful if you could just... agree to do this."

 

Carmilla continued to observe Laura silently after that and the smaller girl's panic only increased.

 

"I will make it worth your while!" she exclaimed desperately.

 

It was only when the brunette raised her eyebrows and chuckled smugly in response that Laura realized the full meaning of what she'd just said.

 

"I didn't mean- I'm not sleeping with you! That's not-" she rushed to say, her whole face crimson.

"Relax cupcake," Carmilla interrupted her. "I didn't assume anything... although..."

"Carmilla!" Laura groaned.

 

The girl chuckled and shook her head. Then, she took another few seconds to look at Laura and sighed deeply.

 

"Okay, _fine_ ," she said with an eye roll. "Let's do this."

"Really?!" the small girl exclaimed excitedly, a huge smile spreading on her face.

 

Carmilla's grin widened a bit and when Laura launched herself to hug her she chuckled disbelievingly.

 

"Jesus creampuff, is that the kind of girlfriend you're going to be?"

 

Laura let go of the brunette quickly, still blushing.

 

"I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"Oh don't apologize, you can press up against me all you want sweetheart."

 

Laura didn't stop her eye roll this time.

 

"You're going to make this difficult, aren't you?" she whined.

"Well you're the one that _needs me_ ," Carmilla replied, winking at Laura before making her way to the luggage checking point.

 

The smaller girl groaned to herself, but followed. She had a distinctive feeling this holiday was going to be a lot more eventful then she'd expected. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing though. In any case, it wasn't as if she had much of a choice. She'd just have to deal with it all as best as she could.

 

These were going to be a long few days.

 


	4. Chapter 3: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one in which Carmilla and Laura actually board a ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the support. It means the world. You can still find me on tumblr and ask me anything you want. Whether it's about this story or anything else.  
> Hope you enjoy this one.

**Chapter 3: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst  
**

 

Laura followed behind Carmilla as the girl walked towards the closest luggage handler. She could feel a heaviness in her a chest, a heaviness that was no doubt due to how nervous this whole ordeal was making her.

 

Just a few hours ago, she had thought she was the luckiest girl on earth. She had a great work opportunity, topped with a free cruise. Now, it turned out that while her opportunity was still great and the cruise still free, it all came at the cost of pretending to date a girl she'd found mostly insufferable for the better of 6 years. It wasn't the best case scenario, that was for sure. Laura could only hope she wouldn't grow to regret her decision to go along with this crazy plan.

 

She'd always been an optimist, but this situation was so beyond her control that Laura was finding it hard to be as positive as usual. Still, she could always try to convince herself that maybe the other girl wouldn't be as bad as she feared she would. Maybe she'd behave.

 

Laura looked at Carmilla as the girl gave her duffel bag to a handler with a barely there smile on her face and walked off towards the security building. She sighed, gave her own luggage to the handler with an apologetic smile and a tip and jogged to catch up with the brunette.

 

They walked inside together and put themselves in line. They stayed like that for quite a while, just standing next to each other without saying anything. Carmilla had taken her book out of her back pack and was holding it in one hand, reading quietly and Laura had to admit this was how she liked her best. Even if the brunette was technically boring company, at least she wasn't annoying her.

 

They did their own thing for most of the queue. Laura had taken her cell phone out and was alternating between browsing through social media and newspaper websites. They were both content in their activities, unbothered by each other. At least they were until Laura started noticing the other people around them.

 

All around them, people were talking excitedly or giggling or kissing or holding hands. Of course, with the cruise being exclusively for couples, it was only normal. The more she looked, the more Laura worried. When they weren't talking, others would touch somehow or at least smile at each other whereas Carmilla and she were pretty much ignoring the other's existence. In this sea of over excited couples on the verge of going on a romantic holiday, they really were standing out. If their little plan was to work, they'd have to put a bit more effort into it, Laura realized with a heavy sigh.

 

She looked around herself one last time, sighed again for good measure and grabbed the other girl's hand, intertwining their fingers.

 

Carmilla stopped reading and threw her the most confused look.

 

"What are you doing?" the girl asked.

 

Laura rolled her eyes.

 

"We're _supposed_ to be a couple, remember?" she whispered. "Look around us, everyone's being... _couply_. We were standing out."

"Yeah, so? We don't have to be a pda kind of couple just because these lackwits seem to have no sense of identity without each other," Carmilla argued back.

"Pda? Oh come on, we're _holding hands_!" Laura said a bit louder this time.

"Exactly," the girl said seriously.

 

Laura looked at her incredulously for a hot second before rolling her eyes in anger.

 

"Fine!" she snapped, trying to take her hand back, but Carmilla held on.

"No no," she said. "You want to be that kind of couple, let's be that kind of couple," she finished a smirk forming slowly on her lips.

 

Laura narrowed her eyes in response. She had a distinctive feeling the other girl was going to make her regret ever taking her hand.

 

Carmilla returned her attention to her book and Laura shook her head before returning her own attention to her phone. They waited in line for a few more minutes in silence and Laura had almost managed to forget the other girl when Carmilla started to brush her thumb across the back of her hand absentmindedly. Her heart skipped a beat in surprise and she bit her bottom lip willing herself not to respond or even glance at the brunette. This whole situation was weird and Laura was definitely uncomfortable. She knew if she looked at the other girl, it would be even worse.

 

After what seemed like forever, it was finally their turn. They walked together to the desk, their hands still hanging between them.

 

"Hi!" the security woman greeted them happily.

 

Laura plastered the most genuine smile she could manage on her face and opened her mouth to answer, but then Carmilla let go of her hand and placed it in the small of her back instead. The smaller girl felt her eyes widen in shock and even if she wanted nothing more than to turn around, she forced herself to stay still.

 

"Hi," Carmilla replied smoothly and Laura could almost hear the smirk on her lips.

"Can I see your tickets and passports please?" the woman asked gently.

"Of-" Laura started, but felt herself choke when Carmilla's thumb found the hem of her shirt and dragged itself underneath to brush her bare skin.

 

The woman looked at her worriedly while the brunette chuckled softly. Laura clenched her teeth and forced herself to relax. This was exactly the kind of thing Carmilla always did. She was pushing her limits, trying to get a rise out of her. She wouldn't let it work, even if her cheeks were flaming red and she wanted nothing more than to escape.

 

"Yeah hum, uh... Here," Laura mumbled handing over the required items, feeling proud she'd manage to say something coherent.

 

The lady gave her a bright smile as she took the tickets and started inspecting them. She typed a few things in her computer and then looked up at them again.

 

"Your passport, mam?" she asked Carmilla politely.

 

Laura almost let a sigh of relief leave her lips when she felt Carmilla's hand leave her skin. She shouldn't have though because the second the brunette had handed over her passport, she was back behind Laura and her hand was once more on the small of her back. It stayed there for about half a second before it started inching lower.

 

Laura squeaked and made a wild grab at the other girl's hand. At the noise though, the lady had lifted her head so for the sake of their little pretend game, Laura laced her fingers with Carmilla's and brought both hands forward to rest on her hip. The action made the brunette step slightly closer as her arm was now circling Laura's waist.

 

The desk lady smiled at them as if they were the loveliest sight she'd seen today and Laura felt an urge to scream. It didn't help one bit when she heard Carmilla chuckle again and felt the hot hair against her neck. She clenched her teeth tightly together and tried not to show just how annoyed she was.

 

They stayed like that for a few minutes with Carmilla's thumb leisurely brushing the skin between the small girl's shirt and jeans and Laura crushing her fingers every time she got a bit too adventurous. Eventually, the lady finished up everything and they were free to go wait in the other line for their cruise card.

 

Laura let go of Carmilla's hand as if she'd been burned and walked away briskly. She walked until she reached a spot a bit more secluded from the other travellers and whipped around to face the brunette.

 

"You are literally the _worst_ fake girlfriend ever!" she snapped angrily.

"I thought you wanted to be a pda couple?" Carmilla replied nonchalantly, an annoying self satisfied smirk firmly set on her lips.

"Why do you _always_ have to take everything I say or do one step too far?! Does it amuse you?!"

"When you lose your shit like that, it sort of does, sweetheart."

 

Laura glared at her, her jaw set, her hands closing into fists. She felt sure that if they'd been in a cartoon, smoke would have come out of her ears.

 

"You are _awful_!" Laura accused angrily. "Would it be too much for you to actually be a little respectful? Gosh, I can't believe you tried to-"

"Oh for fuck's sake creampuff!" Carmilla interrupted irritably. "It was just a _joke_. You need to pull out that humongous stick that's up your ass, darling, you _really_ do, or God help me I _will_ shove you off board," the girl finished a bit too seriously before walking away.

"God you're such a b-" Laura tried to insult, the word dying on her lips as she followed. "I can't believe I'll be stuck with you for _two_ weeks!"

 

Carmilla sent her a death glare, but didn't stop walking.

 

"That makes two of us," she grumbled under her breath, but Laura heard her anyway.

"You know what?" the smaller girl asked angrily. "I think I'll just ignore you for a bit because you're being horrible and I just don't need that!"

"Oh no, what a tragedy," Carmilla deadpanned without even bothering to look at the other girl.

 

Laura scowled at her angrily, but didn't add anything. It was in that lovely mood that they reached the second line and both went back to their things. The brunette opened her book a bit more harshly than usual as Laura just huffed beside her, her arms crossed tightly.

 

They stayed like that, both obviously tense and in complete silence for a long time. Some people would send them curious glances sometimes but Laura would stare at them back with such annoyance and anger that they'd turn away sheepishly. If she'd worried about their cover before, she no longer cared. She grabbed her phone and thought about sending Perry an angry message, but stopped herself. Just because Carmilla was seriously getting on her nerves wasn't an excuse to take out her anger on her friend. She sighed and went back to browsing, anything to change her mind.

 

Eventually, her anger subsided a little and the small girl was able to actually focus on something else than the girl beside her. By the time they'd made it to the front of the line, both she and Carmilla seemed a lot more relaxed, able to exchange a few words without snapping at each other.

 

It was a relief to say the least and before Laura knew it, they were ready to make their way on the boat. She still had no real desire to talk to Carmilla, but at least she didn't want to throttle her anymore and that was definitely an improvement. For the first time in the last few hours, the girl felt her excitement resurface and a slow smile crept up on her lips.

 

They waited in line behind overexcited travellers and the closer they got, the giddier Laura actually became. So much so that at one point, Carmilla looked at her with a raised eyebrow and the smaller girl rolled her eyes, but also smiled begrudgingly, feeling pleasantly surprised when the other girl responded with a small smile of her own.

 

Laura put her phone away and continued to wait. This time though, she couldn't stop sending glances at Carmilla. She hadn't completely forgiven her for her earlier rudeness, but she also didn't want to start their holiday completely on the wrong foot. She hesitated for quite a bit before finally exhaling in resign.

 

"Truce?" she asked hopefully, turning to the other girl.

Carmilla narrowed her eyes and observed her for a few seconds before grinning slightly and nodding.

 

"Alright," she answered simply and Laura smiled brightly.

 

Carmilla looked surprised, but didn't say anything else and neither did Laura. They continued to wait in silence after that, but at least the tension had eased.

 

Perhaps it was exactly because they'd had time to relax that Laura noticed it right away when Carmilla's shoulders seemed to tense once more. Laura frowned as she observed her travel companion, but the other girl gave nothing away. She continued to read and honestly Laura wouldn't have noticed her discomfort at all if it hadn't been for how white her knuckles had turned as they held the book. Eventually, Carmilla put the thing away and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She said nothing though and didn't look at the smaller girl either. Laura tried to catch her eye a few times, but when all attempt failed, she decided to let it go. What else could she do anyway?

 

They finally walked onto the boat after what seemed like an eternity to the overexcited small girl. Laura couldn't stop smiling, not even the staff asked for her back pack to pass it through some x-ray scan. They directed her to another counter afterwards to take her picture for her cruise ID and no one needed to tell her to smile- unlike Carmilla who had followed meekly, a deepening frown on her forehead.

 

When they were done with everything and they were finally free to start their holiday, Laura thought Carmilla's frown would ease and her somewhat good mood would return. She soon found out that she was mistaken though as the brunette's expression only seemed to darken as they walked further inside the ship. Laura gave her a questioning glance trying to see what was wrong, but the other girl was making a point of avoiding her eyes.

 

"Welcome aboard ladies!" a woman greeted them as they walked further. Thank you for choosing Pied Piper travels, we hope you enjoy your cruise. May I see your passes so that I can direct you accordingly to your stateroom?" she finished politely.

 

Laura handed her ticket and glanced quickly at Carmilla as the lady inspected it. The brunette had her arms crossed in front of her, her eyebrows knitted together and her jaw clenched. There was obviously something bothering her and Laura would have lied if she'd said she didn't want to know what was wrong. Before she had time to say anything though, the lady finished her inspection and handed the ticket back.

 

"Your stateroom is on the 12th floor," she informed them. "The elevators are right in front of you and your room will be on the left hand side of the corridor when you step out. Enjoy your first day!"

"Thank you!" Laura answered gratefully.

 

She turned to the elevators, but stopped when Carmilla moved passed her.

 

"I'm taking the stairs," she snapped walking away quickly.

 

Laura frowned and opened her mouth to argue, but the brunette had already disappeared through the staircase door.

 

"Carmilla!" Laura groaned.

 

The cruise lady gave her an apologetic smile as Laura shook her head and headed after her grumpy travel partner. She pushed the door open and started to make her way up the stairs, hearing the other girl's steps slightly above her.

 

"Carmilla," she tried to call, but she got no answer. "Are you serious?!" she continued nonetheless. "You realize we have _twelve_ floors to go, right?!"

 

Her breath was already beginning to shorten and her thighs to ache. She really didn't want to go all the way on foot, but Carmilla was still ignoring her and didn't seem to have any intention of stopping.

 

"Carmilla!" Laura shouted angrily in the hopes of making the brunette stop, but to no avail.

 

She groaned to herself, feeling her irritation with the other girl come back in full force, but she didn't try to stop her again. Clearly, the girl wasn't going to so Laura had better save her breath for the tedious climb. Suddenly, the small girl was glad that she was in good shape.

 

Eventually, after what felt like a million stairs, Laura made it to the twelfth floor. She passed through the door and into the corridor, seeing the back of the brunette's head just a few meters away. She followed angrily, her chest heaving from the unnecessary exercise Carmilla had just put them through.

 

When the brunette reached what was most likely their room and dug her card out of her back pocket, bringing it to the door to unlock it, Laura noticed that her hands were shaking badly. She frowned and fastened her pace.

 

Carmilla didn't wait for her though and stepped right into the room the moment she could. The door had almost closed all the way back when Laura stopped it with her hand. She frowned and followed.

 

"What the heck is wrong with-" she started to ask moodily.

 

But the words died in her throat when she spotted the other girl. Laura had expected the brunette to be on the bed lounging or perhaps walking to their balcony or turning on the tv. She had expected the girl to be doing anything inconsiderate really. What she surely had not expected though was to see the other girl bend over slightly in the middle of the room with her hands on her knees and shaking like a leaf.

 

"Carmilla!?" Laura exclaimed in alarm as she walked to the girl. "Carmilla, are you okay?"

 

The brunette didn't answer, didn't even lift her head to look at her.

 

"Carm?" the smaller girl tried tentatively, stopping right in front of Carmilla, her brows knitted together in worry.

 

She held back a gasp when she saw how pale the other girl looked. Carmilla was so white she looked almost green and Laura could see that sweat had formed on her forehead. Her chest was heaving with difficulty, her breaths ragged as if she was choking. Her eyes were closed, her teeth were clenched and her hands were gripping her knees tightly.

 

"Oh my god, Carmilla…" Laura whispered more to herself than anything else.

 

She had never seen the other girl like this. In the years they'd known each other, Carmilla had always been confident, had always looked in control of everything. There was an undeniable air of arrogance about the girl, an air Laura had spent years disliking. But this, this Carmilla was definitely not arrogant. This Carmilla was most definitely having a panic attack and Laura had no clue what to do.

 

"Carm… I… Can I do anything?" She asked uncertainly. "Please… tell me what to do… I…"

 

The brunette remained silent and she didn't seem to calm down either. Laura almost whimpered in response. She hated this, hated to feel so powerless. She scrunched her eyebrows together and tried to wrack her brain in search of an idea or any useful information.

 

"Think Hollis… think…" she mumbled as she searched the room for inspiration. "It's not like it's that big and… oh!" Laura gasped as she finally understood.

 

She _knew_ what was happening.

 

One afternoon, years ago, she had been hanging out with Perry in the tiny apartment she'd shared with Lafontaine back then. They'd been watching tv aimlessly and commenting on everything as they usually did when they'd fallen on old reruns of _Man vs Wild_. It had been an episode in which Bear Grylls was trying to cross a mountain and instead of going over it, he was trying to go under it. Laura had remembered seeing the show before so when the night vision camera of the man trying to squeeze himself through a tight cavern came on, she wasn't too disoriented.

 

"Oh my god Per! Can you imagine doing that?! He doesn't even know if it can be crossed!" Laura had exclaimed in wonder.

"Oh dear! No! I'd be absolutely terrified!" her friend had said with a disgusted look on her face.

"Yeah… I suppose it _would_ be pretty scary…" Laura had mused. "But what about in a control setting? Imagine! We could go on holiday to like Mexico and go on an excursion and explore caverns! Imagine, Per!" she'd continued, her eyes gleaming dreamily.

"I suppose it would be interesting to see…" Perry had conceded.

"What would?" Lafontaine had asked, walking into her living room with a smile.

"Oh hey Laf!" Laura had greeted. "Back from work?"

"Yup!" they'd said. "Hey hun," they'd muttered giving Perry a light kiss on the lips before falling down on the sofa beside her. "So, what would be interesting?" they'd asked again.

"Going on a cavern exploration in Mexico!"

"Ahhh, sure would be," Lafontaine had nodded with a grin. "Carm would _not_ agree!" she'd added as an afterthought with a slight chuckle.

"Really?" Laura had asked in surprise.

"Yeah, no. Carm is claustrophobic."

"What? Really? I didn't know that…" Laura had replied in surprise.

"Oh yeah. I mean, she's been for years and she's getting better with it, but… yeah. She is…"

"Huh…" Laura had mumbled with a nod. "Well one more reason to go then!" she'd said and both Lafontaine and Perry had groaned as she'd laughed at her own joke.

 

Now though, now that Laura was seeing the effects of the other girl's claustrophobia, she didn't find it remotely funny. The girl's increasing hostility and her insistence to take the stairs made sense now at least. As big as their ship was, the docking area hadn't been the biggest and, well, Laura could very well understand the girl's refusal to take the elevator.

 

"It's the space, right?" she said softly, getting a bit closer to the other girl.

 

To her surprise, Carmilla nodded.

 

"Alright… I uh… I still don't know what to do… I'm sorry… Is there anything I can do?" she pleaded.

 

The girl shook her head and Laura continued to stare at her as she breathed hard, her limbs still trembling. She felt herself frowning even more. There _had_ to be something she could do. She looked around herself again and, this time, she got an idea.

 

Straightening up, Laura walked to their balcony and opened the door wide. Then, she made her way back to the brunette and bit on her bottom lip nervously before reaching forward carefully and dislodging Carmilla's left hand from her knee. She grabbed the hand with her right and intertwined their fingers together.

 

Carmilla's body tensed for a second and her head shot up, her eyes flying open in surprise. Laura gave her a tentative smile and squeezed her hand reassuringly and the brunette's surprised morphed into confusion, but her body relaxed a bit.

 

"Just… come…" she muttered softly, starting to walk backwards.

 

Carmilla followed on shaky legs, her chest still heaving painfully.

 

"It's okay, you're okay…" Laura whispered, unsure if that was helping at all.

 

Before too long though, the small girl had managed to walk them to the balcony. The warm sea air hit their skin instantly.

 

"I… look… everything is not so small anymore… It's… the water seems infinite even…" Laura tried to explain.

 

She hadn't even noticed that her thumb was tracing gentle circles on the other girl's skin until Carmilla's gaze fell on their hands. Laura stopped the motion and felt herself blush, but she didn't let go of the brunette's hand.

 

She waited in silence and slowly, Carmilla's breathing returned to normal and she stopped shaking. Laura continued to wait in perfect silence, giving the other girl as much time as she could to recover from her panic attack.

 

Eventually, Carmilla's skin regained some colour and she let go of Laura's hand, clearing her throat awkwardly.

 

"I… I'll get you a glass of water," the small girl mumbled shyly, looking at the ground.

"Don't," Carmilla interrupted her.

 

Laura looked up at her questioningly and the brunette frowned.

 

"It's okay. I'm okay," she said. "Thanks for… you know," she continued as if she'd just thought about it.

 

The small girl shrugged in response.

 

"It was no problem…"

 

Carmilla didn't answer and continued to look at her curiously. Laura almost felt self-conscious under her intense gaze. In all the years they'd known each other, she couldn't remember Carmilla ever looking at her quite that intensely. Laura wasn't sure how long it lasted and then it was gone.

 

The brunette cleared her throat again and walked back inside. Laura followed awkwardly looking for anything to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them all of a sudden.

 

"So..." she said. "Guess this is the start of our holiday huh?"

 

Carmilla looked at her and then chuckled genuinely. Laura joined her laughter, feeling relief seep through her.

 

"Yeah, I guess it is," the brunette nodded.

"What d'you want to do? I read a few really interesting articles about your first day on a cruise! So, like, I have a few ideas. Apparently we should avoid the buffet because everyone will be heading there. But we should definitely get a drink, possibly several... It is a holiday, right? Oh and pictures! We should take pictures and probably book a few specialty restaurants and visit the different decks, you know? Get our bearings around the ship and-" she started rambling quickly.

"Cupcake!" Carmilla interrupted her with a small laugh. "Please, breathe," she finished before bringing her hands to the hem of her t-shirt and pulling it off swiftly.

 

Laura's cheeks flamed right away as the sight of Carmilla's toned stomach came into view. Her eyes widened and she opened and closed her mouth a few times before almost screeching.

 

"What are you doing?!" she asked incredulously as Carmilla started to unbutton her jeans.

"Relax, creampuff," the girl said with an eye roll, her hands slipping underneath the fabric of her pants and bringing them down her slender legs. "I'm wearing a bathing suit."

 

Laura gulped slowly, taking the information in. Indeed, Carmilla _was_ wearing a bathing suit under her clothes, but still. She wasn't sure she'd ever seen the other girl in this state of undress and as much as she actually disliked her, Laura had to admit that she was really gorgeous.

 

She cursed herself when her eyes trailed down Carmilla's body on their own accord and the brunette smirked at her knowingly. She turned around suddenly, averting her eyes, but the damage was already done. She felt Carmilla walk closer and she shifted nervously on her feet.

 

"It's okay darling," she drawled from somewhere not too far behind Laura. "If we're to be a couple for the next two weeks, you might as well get a good look... You know, make it seem like you actually know your way around my body..."

 

Laura closed her eyes and held back a groan. She hated how flustered Carmilla's teasing could make her. She inhaled deeply as the brunette chuckled behind her and finally turned back around.

 

Apparently, while she'd been teasing, Carmilla had grabbed a pair of really short shorts from her backpack and a tank top and had put them on. She grabbed her sunglasses and perched them on her nose. Then, she turned and started to walk towards the door.

 

"Where are you going?" Laura asked her.

 

"I'm going to find the nearest pool and hot tub and start this holiday in real good fashion," Carmilla answered lazily.

"Oh..."

"You have fun on that little tour of the ship or whatever the hell it is you planned to do," the brunette said opening the door.

"Hey wait!" the smaller girl called after before she had disappeared.

"What is it?" Carmilla asked, sounding annoyed.

 

Laura frowned.

 

"Just... don't forget to be back for the muster drill... It's mandatory," she explained.

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and scoffed.

 

"Sure," she answered.

"I mean it! It _is_ mandatory!" Laura defended, feeling herself get angry at the other girl's flippant attitude.

 

The brunette didn't even answer her. She rolled her eyes again and chuckled and with that she was out the door and gone.

 

"Urghhh," Laura groaned the second she was gone.

 

These two weeks were going to be awfully long.

 

***

 

Carmilla walked down the corridor, her heart beating a bit unevenly. She closed her eyes for half a second and breathed in deeply. She wasn't sure what had happened in the room with Laura, but it had unnerved her.

 

When she had felt her panic attack mounting, the brunette had cursed internally. She had tried to block it, tried to relax before it was too late, but the combination of the new space and the small hallways and her even smaller room hadn't helped. She'd been in full blown panic when Laura had walked into the room and the other girl's presence hadn't helped. Or at least, it hadn't helped at first.

 

Carmilla wasn't sure how Laura knew about her claustrophobia, but she had most definitely known. When she'd taken her hand, the brunette's default reaction had been to tense. She hated when people touched her while having a panic attack. She'd been about ready to pull her hand free roughly when she'd met Laura's gaze and somehow, she hadn't wanted to take her hand away anymore. Carmilla didn't know if it had been the gentleness in the small girl's eyes or the light squeeze on her hand, but for the first time ever, someone else's touch had eased the panic instead of increasing it. So she'd let it go and had followed.

 

She'd been more than a little grateful when Laura had dragged her outside, taking away the source of her phobia in just that simple gesture. It had been the first time that Carmilla had seen Laura be more than the easily angered uptight ball of energy that she usually was. There had been nothing but kindness in her eyes and she'd looked at the brunette with actual care. It had taken Carmilla aback to say the least because if there was one thing she knew it was that Laura Hollis found her utterly annoying. She was fine with it, she really was, but to see someone who had spent years complaining about your behaviour suddenly show so much care was without a doubt a shock.

 

Carmilla shook her head as she continued to walk. Damn Lafontaine and their scheming. She thought back to the texts she'd sent her best friend earlier and scowled. Laf had denied this whole thing being anything more than they'd already claimed it to be, but Carmilla was doubtful. She knew her friend and she knew that the ginger had always thought Laura and she were perfect for each other.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes and shook her head. To think that the tiny ball of rage and herself could ever form an actual couple was hilarious. They had _nothing_ in common and if the past 6 years weren't enough to prove it, Carmilla wasn't sure what was. She sighed. Apparently they _hadn't_ been enough, not for Lafontaine. She could always take comfort in knowing that at least, after this trip was done, Laf would never try anything else ever again. Carmilla had made her swear via text and she was going to keep that text as proof for as long as necessary.

 

Carmilla continued to walk, taking the stairs once more to go down to the lower decks. She wasn't sure exactly where the pool and hot tub were, but she was pretty confident she could find it on her own. As she walked, she crossed paths with a few people, always in duos or more and Carmilla tried very hard not to roll her eyes. How childish, she thought. How childish it was to have this _need_ to be attached to someone else. it wasn't any of her business, she figured, but still, it was entirely too pathetic.

 

Carmilla walked for what felt like several minutes before she finally emerged in the ship's atrium. Even she had to stop to gawk. The place was huge and ridiculously _beautiful_. They called it the piazza and Carmilla could understand why. With its marble floors, twisting chestnut lacquered staircases and huge golden chandeliers, it really looked like an Italian design. It was luxurious and lush and it almost felt to Carmilla as though she'd entered the foyer of some mansion.

 

She shook herself out of her contemplation and continued forward. As beautiful as this was, she wasn't taking a tour of the ship, _god_. That was what Laura was doing, she thought with a snort.

 

After a few more minutes, she finally found her way out and the access to the pool. She smiled as she saw a bar just close by. This was definitely perfect.

 

Carmilla approached the pool and quickly took off her top and shorts. She was dying for a drink, but the sun was also scorching hot and a dip in the pool wouldn't hurt either. As she tossed her clothes on a nearby chair, Carmilla saw from the corner of her eye that the barmaid was checking her out. She smirked to herself and stretched just for the hell of it, feeling the barmaid's eyes follow her limbs.

 

Maybe she was a bit conceited, but the brunette never tired of people checking her out. She walked to the side of the pool and made a perfect dive. She smirked when she felt the cool water on her skin. She wasn't exactly a swimmer, but she still loved how it felt against her, how it worked around her body. It was as good a work out as any and in this suffocating heat, it was very much welcome.

 

Carmilla swam a few laps before climbing out and finding a towel to dry her face. Water dripped from her body and, again, she felt the barmaid's eyes on her. She smirked to herself and brush a hand through her hair before walking towards the bar, the towel on her shoulder. As she got closer, she took in the woman's appearance, long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, she was cute for sure. Carmilla smiled even more.

 

"Hi," she said, her voice low and seductive, as she stood in front of the barmaid.

"Hi, can I get you anything?" the woman asked politely, her eyes trying hard not to move from her face.

"Yes, you can," Carmilla replied.

"What will it be?"

"Well... I'm not too sure, you see..." she continued, looking pensive.

"Oh? What do you usually drink? We should have everything to satisfy your needs," the barmaid explained innocently.

"I have no doubt about that," Carmilla replied with a chuckle and a slight quirk of her eyebrow.

 

The barmaid blushed slightly.

 

"Anyway," the brunette continued smoothly. "I don't want to drink my usual stuff... Since this is a holiday for me, I figured I could try something different..." she mused. "What do _you_ usually have?"

"Me?" the barmaid asked.

"Yes. What's your drink of choice?"

"I really like martinis..."

"Interesting," Carmilla said with a nod.

"Do you want me to make you one?" the barmaid asked.

"No, thank you. Can you bring me a glass of whiskey? With just a bit of ice, please?" the brunette answered.

"Oh, huh, of course," the other woman said right away looking confused.

 

She left to prepare the drink and Carmilla waited patiently. She came back only a moment later.

 

"Here you go."

"Thank you very much," the brunette answered taking a small sip and humming in pleasure. "Humm this is wonderful, thanks again."

 

She got up and started to leave, but she hadn't gone very far when the barmaid called after her. Carmilla smirked to herself, before putting on a more neutral expression and facing the blonde.

 

"Yeah?" she asked the other woman.

"Do... do you dislike martinis or...?"

" Not at all. I was just always going to get a whiskey, sweetheart. I've got nothing against your tastes."

"I... Why did you want to know my favourite drink if you were always going to have a whiskey anyway?" the barmaid asked completely confused now.

"So that I would know what to buy you later," Carmilla replied casually, smirking triumphantly when the barmaid blushed but smiled nonetheless.

"Oh..." the blonde muttered, actually sounding pleased.

"See you later, sweetheart," Carmilla said with a wink before walking casually to the chair where she'd dropped her top and shorts.

 

She moved her stuff to the side and laid down on her chair. That barmaid had been really cute, she'd enjoyed making her blush, Carmilla thought, but not as much as she enjoyed making Laura blush, she realised after a second. She groaned at herself. What the fuck? She didn't need to think about Laura right now. It was already bad enough that she was going to be stuck playing house with her for two weeks, she didn't need to think about her when they weren't together.

 

Carmilla put her sunglasses on and closed her eyes. Yes, enjoying the sun and relaxing, that was what she needed to do.

 

The brunette stayed like that for a long time. She'd jump back in the water when the heat would become too much and sit back down afterwards. The pool side had started filling up by now and there was light chatter around her, but Carmilla didn't mind. She'd gone back to the bar once to get herself another drink and she'd given the cute barmaid her most charming smile. She hadn't really had time to talk to her though, but she didn't mind. Carmilla was a loner mostly, she had always been. Apart from Lafontaine, she had never really cared for company.

 

Still, when company presented itself to her, she didn't mind either. So when a waiter walked to her with a glass of whiskey and a note, Carmilla took it with a polite smile. She unfolded the note and smirked widely when she saw that it was from the barmaid.

 

_If you cared to buy me a drink,_

_I'm on break..._

_-E_

 

Carmilla chuckled, grabbed her stuff and walked towards the bar. She saw the barmaid from the corner of her eye and sent her a quick wink before signalling a working barman and ordering a martini. A few minutes later, she walked to the girl and placed the martini in front of her.

 

"I'm Carmilla," she introduced herself.

"Elsie," the other girl said.

 

They smiled at each other and started chatting.

 

They talked like that for a while. The girl was nice enough and although Carmilla wasn't _really_ that interested, she was enjoying the mild flirting. Besides, it was a relief to talk with someone who didn't get angry and snappy every other sentences.

 

They must have talked for a good 20 minutes when there was an announcement that everyone had to go to the auditorium for the mandatory muster drill. Carmilla groaned and grimaced. She had been enjoying herself and she had no desire to attend that boring drill.

 

"Well, guess this is goodbye, sweetheart... Mandatory drill and all that..."

 

Elsie looked really disappointed. Carmilla gave her an apologetic smile and stood up to gather her stuff.

 

"I'll see you around?" Carmilla asked when she was ready to leave.

The blonde looked at her hesitatingly before sighing and giving her a smile.

 

"Actually... I'm huh... trained to give the muster drill... So... you don't _really_ have to go if you don't want to... I could brief you myself..." Elsie explained.

 

Carmilla smirked brightly and her eyes flashed with mischief.

 

"Really? In that case, let me buy you a second drink, darling," she purred.

 

Elsie smiled brightly and blushed.

 

Maybe the next few weeks wouldn't be completely horrible after all, Carmilla thought.


	5. Chapter 4: When in Rome, do as the Romans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if I was going to post today... then I decided I'd do it :-) Hope you enjoy this new chapter!

**Chapter 4: When in Rome, do as the Romans  
**

 

Laura was not surprised. Annoyed? Yes. Exasperated even? Most definitely. But surprised? No, not really. So, yeah, Carmilla had skipped the muster drill and although Laura had really hoped she wouldn't, she couldn't say she was surprised that she had.

 

She was annoyed though, of course she was. Laura couldn't understand why abiding by any kind of rule or appointment seemed to be hard for Carmilla. She'd _told_ her, told her the drill was mandatory and yet the girl had skipped it. Laura didn't understand that, the carelessness, the total disregard for others that Carmilla seemed to show at times. She knew, deep down, that there was more to the girl. She knew because, after all, Carmilla was Lafontaine's best friend and Laura _knew_ that that meant that the brunette wasn't a complete callous, selfish jerk. Besides, she'd asked Perry once, years ago, after she'd met Carmilla for the first time. She'd asked Perry how Lafontaine could be friends with a girl that seemed so indifferent to everything. Perry had been adamant then- and she still was whenever Laura brought it up- Carmilla _wasn't_ indifferent. She had been there for Lafontaine at a time they'd really needed it. She'd skipped classes and had prioritised Laf like no one had ever done for them. They'd formed a bond then, a bond that had never faltered afterwards.

 

If Laura was completely objective, something she strived to be, being a journalist and all, she knew that Carmilla had a knack for remembering small details about people and that often lead to her being quite considerate. Like the fact that every time she was over for dinner at Laf and Perry's, she'd bring Perry her favourite wine or her favourite flowers. So really, the girl had to care at least a little, right? Of course, it wasn't as if Carmilla had ever shown _her_ that kind of consideration.

 

Still, despite that, Laura had to remind herself that Carmilla wasn't _truly_ the worst when she found herself alone in the auditorium for the muster drill. It wasn't that easy though, especially not when couples all around her were looking at her weirdly for being alone. Laura had closed her eyes for a few seconds and pushed her shoulders back. She hadn't wanted to look like a weak little girl. So what if she was alone? So what if she looked like she had the most inconsiderate girlfriend ever? These people didn't know her and she wouldn't let them ruin her day.

 

Besides, maybe there was actually a reason for Carmilla's absence. Maybe, just _maybe_ , the girl had gotten sea sick and walked back to their room instead. Laura didn't really believe that, but she didn't want to judge the other girl too fast either. And she had, if she was honest with herself, a tendency to do that.

 

So after the muster drill, Laura decided to try to find Carmilla. She walked to the elevators and it was only then that she realised that perhaps the brunette had had another panic attack. Despite herself, Laura found herself worrying. Sure, she didn't exactly like the girl, but she'd also seen how lost Carmilla had looked earlier and Laura didn't want her to be alone if it happened again. She really was too kind for her own good sometimes.

 

The small girl was walking to hers and Carmilla's room in no time. She was feeling a bit nervous. After all, she'd managed to help the brunette before, but she didn't really know the first thing about panic attacks. What if Carmilla really was there having a break down? Laura wasn't sure she knew how to handle that.

 

It turned out that she didn't have to worry though, because when she entered the room, Carmilla was nowhere to be found. Laura rolled her eyes and turned around to leave. If the other girl wasn't in their room, it probably meant that she hadn't had an attack at all and she was just fine. She'd just missed the muster drill because she could.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and sighed. She couldn't believe she'd worried for even a second. Still, despite that the small girl was now convinced that the brunette was completely fine, she needed to find her. If only to make sure that she wouldn't skip dinner like she'd skipped the drill.

 

Laura took the elevators to the lower floors, deciding to make her way to the pool. That's where Carmilla had said she'd go when they had parted ways earlier and during their time apart, Laura had actually spent quite a good amount of time wandering the ship and she'd seen no sign of the brunette anywhere else. So chances were that she was still right where she'd said she would be. Maybe there was a fraction of the girl that was actually trustworthy, Laura thought bitterly.

 

The small girl walked for a while, her irritation subsiding a bit as she discovered new parts of the ship. Despite being annoyed at Carmilla, Laura couldn't help but gush and stare in wonder. The thing was humongous for starters and so luxurious it was completely insane. Laura had already noticed a distinctive Italian style, a style that made everything feel classier, more distinguished. If only for the pleasure of being aboard such a beautiful boat, Laura had to admit she was rather pleased to be here. She'd have to text Perry and Lafontaine before she forgot and be a bit more appreciative of the gift they'd given Carmilla and she.

 

In what felt like no time at all, the small girl found herself finally walking to the side of the pool. Her annoyance came back with a fierce force when she saw exactly who she'd been looking for sitting idly at the bar, seemingly chatting up a blonde barmaid. Laura huffed and clenched her teeth. Of course, she thought, her eyebrows furrowing. Of, course Carmilla would skip the muster drill to flirt.

 

She rolled her eyes and made her way over to her supposedly girlfriend.

 

"Hey," she greeted when she was close enough, no particular warmth to her tone.

 

Carmilla turned around slowly and her lips curved into a sloppy smirk when she spotted the small girl.

 

"Well _hello_ ," she purred in response. "If it isn't the light of my life," she added with a wink.

 

Laura held back an eye roll, but exhaled loudly.

 

"You skipped the muster drill," she stated plainly.

"Oh my!" Carmilla hushed, faking surprise. "Did I? What a shame!"

 

The barmaid chuckled as she continued to mix a drink nearby and Carmilla looked pleased with herself. Laura felt anger prickle inside her chest and closed her eyes in response. She didn't want to get angry. She didn't want to get into another shouting match with the brunette. They'd already spent most of the day fighting and she had enough. She'd had a good time aboard so far, she wouldn't let Carmilla ruin it.

 

"You know it's actually _important_ ," she said anyway. "You won't know the safety measures if something happens."

 

The brunette rolled her eyes and scoffed.

 

"Don't worry sweetheart," she said softly, snaking an arm around Laura's waist and pulling her in closer. "If we hit an iceberg, I'll let you have the door."

 

The barmaid giggled again and Laura wanted to barf. When she didn't answer, Carmilla pulled her in closer still until the small girl placed her hands on her shoulders to keep at least some distance. Apparently the move amused the other girl because she chuckled and Laura was hit with the heavy smell of alcohol.

 

"Okay, wow, you smell like the bottom of a brewery... How much have you had to drink?" she asked, squinting in disgust.

 

Carmilla let go of her waist with a sigh and Laura took a step back.

 

"Did you just come here to complain about my behaviour creampuff or did you have something to tell me?" she asked.

 

Laura opened her mouth to snap something back, but closed it again. She was _not_ going to fight and give Carmilla the satisfaction of making her look like a high maintenance, whiny girlfriend.

 

"I just wanted to ask if you could be there at least for dinner tonight. In the main dining room? They'll assign us our table for the next two weeks and everything."

"And?" Carmilla asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Don't be a jerk..." Laura whispered, shaking her head. "Can you please be there? I don't want to eat alone and have them ask me a million questions about where my partner is, okay?" she explained.

"Being a slave, what should I do but tend upon the hours and times of your desire?" the brunette replied with a toothy grin.

 

This time, Laura rolled her eyes. Of all the things, of course Carmilla could recite poetry off the top of her head while being apparently pretty drunk.

 

"So you'll be there?" she asked, just to confirm.

"I would never miss this chance of fine dining in even finer company, my love," the brunette said with a smirk.

 

Laura narrowed her eyes and shook her head a little. Carmilla was still trying to make her uncomfortable, make her feel slightly out of step. Well two could play that game Laura decided.

 

She stepped closer, putting a hand on Carmilla's shoulder and smiled sweetly when she saw the brunette's eyes widen a bit in surprise.

 

"Wonderful. Have a good rest of afternoon, _sweetheart_ ," she said as cheerily as she could.

 

Then she leaned in and placed a kiss on Carmilla's cheek. Her heart wavered a little bit when her lips took in the softness of the other girl's skin, but the next second she had stepped away with a tight lipped smile and was walking away. She had to go before Carmilla spotted the redness growing on her cheeks.

 

Before she was too far though, she turned around and grinned a bit when she saw a pretty stricken looking brunette.

 

"So that's your girlfriend?" Laura heard someone who she assumed was the barmaid say. "She's hot."

 

The small girl grinned smugly, her head held high.

 

"Yeah... I know..." She heard Carmilla reply then.

 

Laura gulped and felt herself blush even more. She didn't turn around and continued to walk.

 

****

 

The rest of the day passed by rather quickly. Laura had continued to tour the ship after her talk with Carmilla and when she'd been pretty satisfied, she'd retreated to her room to start writing down some notes for her article.

 

Laura wasn't sure what angle she wanted to take on the thing yet though and that was making the whole process a bit harder than it had to be. She was sitting at the desk in their room, her laptop propped open in front of her and a notepad right in front of it. She had her thumb in her mouth, her eyebrows furrowed. She'd put on her reading glasses too just to spare her eyes the extra effort.

 

She'd filmed a few clips earlier and was now watching them, trying to assess how she felt about it all. She wasn't convinced she liked how it came off. She was just about to try a different approach when the door to their room opened and Carmilla walked in.

 

"Oh, hey," she greeted, slightly surprised.

"Hey to you too, cupcake," Carmilla replied.

"I... why are you here?" she asked in confusion.

 

The brunette looked at her as if she'd lost her mind and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Well, if I remember correctly, a tiny woman asked me to have dinner with her tonight so..."

"Oh, right! Wow, is it already dinner time?" Laura mused incredulous.

"Sure is. What's got you losing all sense of time?" Carmilla questioned, pointing at the stuff on the desk.

"Just working on my article. Trying to figure out how to present it, you know?"

"Don't you just have to review the cruise?" the girl asked, sitting on the bed not too far from Laura's chair.

"Well, I _could_ and I have to wedge a review in there too, but I wanted to do something... well... _more_ ," she explained with a squint.

"Good luck with that," Carmilla scoffed with a shrug. "Oh, is that you? Did you film yourself cupcake?" she asked, spotting the paused video on Laura's computer.

"Yeah... I might try to do a multimedia edit. Make the review or article accessible on different platform or something..."

"Ah, so you've got a thing for filming yourself, huh?" Carmilla said with a smirk. "Kinky, I like it."

"Oh, shut it!" Laura groaned with an eye roll.

 

The brunette chuckled but didn't reply. Instead, she walked to her luggage which had been dropped during the day and started extracting some clothes.

 

"Not that your little project isn't thrilling, but I'm going to take a shower," she announced when she was done.

"Good idea," Laura replied without looking at the other girl. "Brush your teeth too, you still smell like a barrel of whiskey."

"Careful creampuff. With such sweet talking skills, you may just make me swoon," Carmilla retorted sarcastically before disappearing into the bathroom.

 

Laura glared at the closed door, but didn't comment. She continued to work on her article for a few minutes before shutting off her computer and putting her notepad away. Since she could still hear the shower going, Laura decided to change quickly. She'd just finished brushing her hair and putting on some light make up when the bathroom door opened on a fully dressed Carmilla, her hair still wet and her cheeks slightly flushed from the shower. She was wearing a pair of tight jeans that were ripped at the knees and a loose stripped shirt. The combination was casual, but it looked great on her.

 

Laura realised she'd been staring when she saw Carmilla grin and raise an eyebrow at her suggestively. She averted her eyes quickly and felt herself blush. You could always count on her stupid complexion to betray her embarrassment.

 

"Ready for dinner?" she asked, her voice wavering as Carmilla chuckled.

"Of course, my lady," the girl teased.

 

Laura rolled her eyes.

 

"You don't have to pretend _here_ ," she chastised. "It's the only place where we _don't_ have to pretend to be a couple. Let's take advantage of it, ok?"

"Are you already tired of my attentions, creampuff?" Carmilla teased, stepping closer.

"I was tired of them literally a second after they began," Laura replied harshly, deciding to make her way out of the room.

"Sure didn't seem to mind so much when you were kissing me by the pool..." the brunette observed, her tone seductive.

 

Laura groaned before shaking her head. Carmilla had followed her through the door and they made their way to the stairs.

 

"Kissed your _cheek_ ," she clarified for her own sake.

"Come on, admit it cupcake! You're starting to _like_ getting my attentions. So you kissed me. It's understandable, I am awfully charming..." the other girl continued a step or two behind Laura.

"I do _not_!" the small girl thundered proudly even if she _knew_ Carmilla was only riling her up.

"Then why d'you kiss me?" the girl sing sang.

"Because you were making me look like a really high maintenance girlfriend! I wanted to show I was, I don't know, soft or whatever..."

"Your lips were soft alright," Carmilla purred softly, making Laura jump as she realised how close she'd managed to get.

 

She almost elbowed the girl in the chest in response.

 

"Jesus Carm!" she complained. "Also, stop that!" Laura demanded.

"Stop what?" Carmilla asked her innocently.

 

The small girl narrowed her eyes.

 

"These flirty comments! I know they're not sincere and it's _annoying_!"

"You think I'm not being sincere?!" Carmilla pretended to gasp, bringing a hand to her chest. "Cupcake, you're breaking my heart."

 

Laura frowned and huffed and walked away, muttering under her breath.

 

"That bunched up little face you make when you're angry is hilarious buttercup," the brunette said through her chuckles as she followed after her.

 

They continued to bicker all the way to the dining hall, but quieter and quieter the closer they got.

 

"It's a good thing no one actually knows us here because if they did _not a single person_ would believe that we are actually a real couple," Laura whispered angrily as they finally arrived and stood in line to get their table assignment.

"Would they now?" Carmilla replied in a bored tone.

"Yes!" the smaller girl confirmed adamantly. "You're not even my type of girlfriend!"

"Oh yeah?" the brunette asked with a raised eyebrow. "Not really into hot people, are you? I mean I'd figured..."

"What the heck does that mean?!" Laura snapped back clearly affronted.

"Well I mean, if you'll remember, I've _met_ Mandy so..."

"Oh my God! What is it with you and Mandy?! I'll have you know that she was a _perfectly_ nice girl!" she defended.

"Oh yeah? Why did you break up with her then if she was so _perfectly nice_ ," Carmilla shot back with a smirk.

 

Laura blushed and frowned.

 

"Not that it's any of your business, but... If you _must_ know, she was a bit... overbearing. I felt smothered."

"No kidding," Carmilla snorted.

"Not literally, you jerkface!"

 

The brunette shrugged and smirked and Laura was about to continue insulting her when a voice interrupted her.

 

"Hi, good evening ladies and welcome to the dining hall!"

 

While they were arguing, they'd moved up the line and it was now their turn to be seated. Laura tried to control her features before turning around to face their waitress. When her eyes finally settled on her, they automatically widened and her mouth opened slightly.

 

"My name is Danny Lawrence and I will be your waitress tonight and for the reminder of your holiday with us," the girl said with a bright smile.

 

Laura continued to stare and holy _crapsticks_ if their waitress wasn't one of the most gorgeous girl she'd ever seen with her long smooth red hair, her baby blue eyes and freckles. She gaped as the girl, their waitress, obviously waited for them to answer. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment when she heard Carmilla clear her throat beside her and finally averted her eyes.

 

She looked at the brunette who gave her a pointed look and when she turned again to look at the girl- _Danny_ , Laura thought with a shiver- her heart thudded loudly. She spotted a shy smile and a faint blush on the redhead's cheeks and Laura bit her bottom lip.

 

"Hi," She finally manage to say, her voice way too high.

"Hi," Danny replied, her eyes locking with Laura's.

"Fucking hell..." she heard Carmilla mutter grumpily beside her. "Uh, excuse me, but had you planned to walk us to our table _before_ dinner or...?" she asked rudely.

 

Laura glared at Carmilla instantaneously as Danny's smile faltered and she mumbled a quick apology, urging them to follow her.

 

"What is wrong with you?!" Laura mouthed to Carmilla as the girl strolled beside her, her hands in her pockets and a frown on her face.

 

The brunette replied with an eye roll and before Laura had time to press the matter further, they had arrived at their table.

 

"You may sit down," Danny told them and they did. "This will be your table for the next week if it's to your liking. Do you like the placement?"

"Yes, it's perfect! Thank very much Miss Lawrence," Laura answered quickly.

"You can call me Danny," the waitress replied softly, her eyes locking with the smaller girl's once more.

 

Laura was so busy smiling that she didn't notice Carmilla narrow her eyes in disgust just next to her.

 

"Well _I_ think we could be sat closer to a window..." the brunette said haughtily.

 

Laura shot her a glare, her eyes screaming for Carmilla to shut up. Of course, the girl only held her eyes looking completely bored and indifferent. Laura could have strangled her.

 

"Oh uh, I'll see what I can do..." Danny mumbled uncomfortably, but before she had time to go, Laura called after her.

"Danny wait! Don't! I... forgive that one over there. She uh... she gets grumpy when she's hungry!" she said, finding an excuse quickly. "This table is absolutely fine, _right Carm_?!" Laura finished, shooting the brunette a pointed look.

 

As it was though, Carmilla was no longer looking at either of them. She made a noncommittal groan, her nose buried in the menu. Laura turned back to Danny and gave her an apologetic smile to which the waitress responded with a tight lipped, uncomfortable one.

 

"Well, don't hesitate to tell me if you need anything. I'll let you look at the menu for a few minutes," she said before turning on her heels and leaving.

"Come back, never," Carmilla muttered after her, her gaze still pointedly in the menu.

"What the frack was that?!" Laura snapped the second Danny was out of earshot. "Why were you so _rude_? It was totally uncalled for!"

 

The brunette finally looked up and tossed the menu back on the table.

 

"Are you kidding me?" she said coolly. "The girl was basically _drooling_ over you! Not that you were any better," she grumbled with an eye roll. "I don't care if you're not really my girlfriend, for all she knows you _are_. It was disrespectful of her."

"I... Danny wasn't drooling over me, was she?" Laura asked surprised, her cheeks heating up.

"Seriously cupcake?" Carmilla said with a disgusted look. "That's what you decided to remember?"

 

Laura blushed harder as looked down at her paper napkin.

 

"Well... She is _really_ attractive..." she defended weakly.

"Urgh," Carmilla groaned. "What's with you and disproportionately tall women? I can't believe _that's_ your type..."

"Danny is _not_ disproportionate! She's tall and athletic! And, wow, did you see her eyes? And her smile?" Laura defended hotly, getting slightly lost in her daydreaming.

"Okay, you need to stop all of this before I get queasy," Carmilla said as she pretended to shudder.

"Why are you being so rude? Why do you even care what I think of Danny? Or what she thinks of me for that matter!"

"I _don't_ care. But she's our _waitress_ and it was completely unprofessional of her," the brunette explained with narrowed eyes.

"What?! She was completely professional!"

"Yeah, of course, because lusting after your-"

"She was _not_ lusting!"

"Oh for fuck's sake creampuff! How blind are you?!" Carmilla groaned. "Want proof then? Alright, I'll show you."

"What? Wai-" Laura started to say, but stopped when the other girl waved the waitress over.

 

Danny walked towards them immediately with a bright smile on her lips and Laura was so absorbed that she almost didn't notice Carmilla sliding her chair closer to her.

 

"What can I do for you? Are you ready to order?" Danny asked them politely when she had reached them.

"Hi, not quite," Carmilla said and Laura almost jumped out of her seat when one of the brunette's hand found its way to her thigh. "But, I was wondering if you could bring us a bottle of Pinot Noir, please," the girl continued smoothly.

 

Laura's head shot to Carmilla, her eyebrows high in surprise. Pinot Noir was her favourite type of wine. But surely that had to be a coincidence...

 

Carmilla turned her gaze on Laura, interrupting her thoughts instantly. Her dark eyes found hers, and the small girl gulped slowly when she noticed that they were shinning deeply in a way she wasn't sure she'd ever seen before.

 

"You see," Carmilla continued, not taking her eyes off of Laura. "It's my girlfriend's favourite kind of wine and I thought I'd spoil her a little to celebrate the start of our holiday."

" _Not_ a coincidence then," Laura thought, her heart catching in her throat.

 

Carmilla turned to Danny for a second, flashing her a phony smile.

 

"Your finest bottle, please," she said before turning back towards Laura once more, her eyes still as entrancing as ever. "I want nothing but the best for the kindest, most headstrong woman I've ever met..."

 

After that, Carmilla reached a hand forward, her fingers gently pushing aside a lock of the small girl's hair and placing it behind her ear. They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds and Laura doubted she would have been able to look away if she'd wanted to. She _knew_ that Carmilla was only putting on a show for Danny, she _knew_ that, but there was something about her softness, about the glint in her brown eyes that felt almost genuine. Laura wasn't sure she wanted to dwell on that thought though.

 

"Such a beautiful woman..." the brunette continued tenderly. "Don't you think she deserves it?" she finished, finally letting her fingers fall from Laura's cheek and turning to look at the waitress.

 

Laura breathed shakily and blinked a few times before turning to look at the redhead as well. She realised that her heart was beating slightly faster than it had before and it jumped a beat when she noticed the slightly sad and uncomfortable look on Danny's face.

 

"Of course... I'll be right back," the waitress said before leaving.

 

The second she was far enough, Carmilla took her hand off Laura's knee, leaning back into her chair, her arms crossed on her chest. All the tenderness she'd shown before was now gone and she was back to looking like her usual cold and arrogant self.

 

"Told you," she said smugly. "That giant beanstalk looked like a kicked puppy."

 

Laura bit her bottom lip, her cheeks bright red. She was annoyed at Carmilla, annoyed because the girl had just used her to prove a point, but also annoyed at herself because, she had to admit, she'd let the brunette's little game affect her.

 

Laura closed her eyes for a second or two and shook her head. There was no reason to dwell on how sincere Carmilla had looked since it had all been a lie anyway. This Carmilla, the forever bored looking one was the person Laura knew. She had to remember that. It was in the small girl's nature to see the best in people, to willingly give them second, third, fourth chances or more. It was who she was, she believed in kindness and hope. But Carmilla... She'd known the girl for _years_. She'd long ago stopped expecting anything more from her. The brunette didn't like her and took almost vicious pleasure in angering her. Laura had to remember that. It wasn't that she didn't believe that there might be more to the girl- there probably was- but whatever lay underneath Carmilla's cold exterior, Laura would never see it. She was sure of it.

 

She shook her head again and felt a smile form on her lips as she remembered the one positive thing she _could_ take from the evening so far. Carmilla's game, although irritating, had managed to prove one thing. Danny maybe _did_ think she was cute. Laura was definitely happy about that.

 

"Christ, you're actually smiling," Carmilla whined. "You're happy about Garganta's reaction, aren't you?"

"Just... Let's just order, okay?" Laura said, not looking at the other girl and burying her head in the menu instead.

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but she ignored her. She had every right to be happy.

 

***

The rest of dinner, miraculously went rather well. When Danny came back to take their order, Carmilla actually behaved somewhat politely. Laura had definitely been pleased about that. The brunette had still complained about some 'lingering looks' she pretended Danny and the smaller girl had shared throughout the night, but apart from that, she'd been decent enough company. She'd even paid for the wine she'd ordered. Laura had wanted to split the cost, but Carmilla had brushed her off. It had been part of her idea to prove her point about Danny, she'd explained, so it was her duty to pay. Laura had argued until an exasperated Carmilla had told her to 'shut up and drink her wine'. She hadn't argued further after that.

 

The wine had been one of the best Laura had ever tasted and the food had been just as delicious. After appetizers and their main course, they'd been ridiculously full, but that hadn't stopped Laura from ordering a dessert nonetheless. Carmilla had made fun of her for it, but she's still stolen a few bites.

 

They'd left the dinner hall after that, Laura sending Danny a small wave as they went, Carmilla looking annoyed beside her.

 

"If you keep making sappy eyes at our waitress, people are definitely going to figure out that we're not an actual couple," she complained as they walked.

"You're such a hypocrite! If you think I don't know you were flirting all afternoon with that blonde barmaid, you're thicker than I thought," Laura replied with an eye roll.

 

For once, Carmilla had nothing to answer back and the small girl had to admit she was pretty pleased with herself. They continued to walk a bit aimlessly in silence for a few seconds.

 

"So..." She Carmilla said slowly, breaking the silence. "What were you going to do now?"

 

Laura looked at her with raised eyebrows.

 

"You want to hang out? With me?" she asked genuinely shocked.

 

Carmilla half shrugged.

 

"I have nothing better to do. And if I don't hang out with you, I might end up stuck with someone even more annoying. The devil you know, you know."

 

The small girl shook her head and smirked.

 

"Well, I was going to go to the welcome show."

 

The brunette groaned.

 

"Seriously? I think I've changed my mind..."

"No you haven't," Laura chuckled. "Come on, grumpy pants! Let's go."

 

And with that she was off, feeling pleased again when Carmilla trailed behind her with only minor brooding.

 

***

 

Quickly enough, they reached the auditorium. Laura wanted to sit as close to the front as possible, but Carmilla vetoed that decision with a strict 'no way in hell, cupcake' so they walked almost to the complete back and settled themselves. They ended up waiting for quite a bit as more people filled the auditorium.

 

"Why did I let you drag me into this?" Carmilla whined.

"Drag you into this? You're the one who wanted to hang out!" Laura scoffed. "The devil you know, you know," she mimicked, making her voice as deep as possible.

"I don't even sound like that..." Carmilla said with an eye roll.

"Yes you do! You speak all deep and slow, take that sexy tone and drawl and smirk, you _totally_ sound like that!" she argued.

"You think I have a sexy voice?" Carmilla asked with a sly smirk.

"I-" Laura tried to answer, her cheeks coloring.

 

Had she really said that out loud?

 

"I don't... I meant like, _you_ try to make it sexy and maybe some people think it works, but not... not me!" Laura hurriedly explained.

"Yeah sure, you keep telling yourself that cupcake," the brunette said, looking at her nails and looking entirely too self satisfied.

"Urgh! Stop looking so smug! You're so full of yourself."

"Why would I stop? You find my voice sexy, clearly you're drawn to me. I'm flattered creampuff, truly."

"I am _not_ drawn to you!" Laura thundered, making a few people turn around.

 

That shut her up real fast and Carmilla chuckled next to her.

 

"Smooth, Sundance, smooth. That'll help our cover for sure."

"Do me a favour, stop talking okay?"

"Feisty..." Carmilla joked as Laura elbowed her. "Ow! _Real_ feisty..."

 

The small girl glared angrily and was met with more chuckles. Maybe she shouldn't have allowed Carmilla to join, she thought bitterly. They stayed silent after that, Laura unwilling to talk to the brunette. Not that the other girl seemed to mind.

 

The silence was about to get uncomfortable when finally, the auditorium lights dimmed and disappeared and a bright spot appeared on stage. Laura smiled and sat slightly more forward in her seat.

 

Then, slowly, a shape made her way from the far back of the stage to the front. Laura waited anxiously, the shape finally revealing itself to be a woman, until she stepped fully under the spotlight. The small girl felt her eyes widen as the woman on stage opened her mouth and belt out a ridiculously high note. Beside her, Carmilla started cackling.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip to stop her own laughter from erupting. The woman stopped the note, grinned proudly at the crowd and then started singing some song as the whole stage lit up and a crew of dancers appeared, dressed in sailor suits. Carmilla laughed even harder and even Laura couldn't hold off a snicker.

 

"Fucking _Christ_!" the brunette wheezed through her laughter. "What is _that_?"

 

Laura didn't answer, but she grinned nonetheless.

 

"That singer looks like the love child of Liza Minnelli and John C. Reilly..." Carmilla muttered in her ear and Laura laughed hard.

 

She looked at the lady with her curly mop of hair and insanely wide smile and she had to admit, Carmilla was totally right. She turned to look at the brunette and bit her bottom lip when she spotted the surprised, yet pleased and mischievous grin on the girl's face. It was in that moment that Laura realised that this was probably the first time she had genuinely laughed at something Carmilla had said. Her heart skipped weirdly in her chest and she smiled shyly.

 

Laura turned her attention back to the stage and Carmilla continued to whisper smart ass comments in her ear as the performance went on. The small girl laughed most of the time and the more she did, the more relaxed Carmilla looked. This dynamic felt new and a bit unsettling for Laura. She wasn't used to anything but bickering between herself and the other girl. She wasn't sure if she liked the new dynamic or if she was angry at herself for falling so easily into it.

 

Of course, it was just as Laura had decided that maybe finding Carmilla funny rather than irritating wasn't the worst thing ever that the performance ended and someone else walked onto the stage. A very tall, very ginger someone else.

 

"Don't tell me we're still stuck with Olympe!" Carmilla groaned as they both recognized the bright smile of Danny Lawrence.

"Don't start on her again," Laura defended, sitting up straighter into her seat.

"Oh come on! I can have a go at Gloria Estefan over there, but not at Clifford?"

"I said, don't start!"

 

Carmilla glared at her and crossed her arms on her chest. She was frowning like a child and the small girl found herself eye rolling.

 

"I don't even understand why you dislike her so much. She's perfectly nice..."

"Course," Carmilla scoffed. "And we both know how you like _perfectly nice_ girls."

 

Laura sighed and shook her head. Maybe their dynamic wasn't as different after all.

 

The show went on, with Danny presenting each performances. Carmilla continued to comment and, sometimes, despite herself, Laura would still laugh. But it wasn't as easy as it had been at the beginning. It wasn't as easy, because Carmilla was also insulting Danny every chance she got and that alone was irritating enough.

 

Laura really didn't understand. Danny was beautiful and nice and funny and she looked smart and kind. The small girl was a bit in awe. Everything about her seemed strong and wonderful. Laura couldn't take her eyes off of her.

 

"Are you guys ready for the next performance?" Danny asked eagerly on the stage.

"Oh yeah, _sure_ , Xena," Carmilla grumbled. "We're just thrilled."

 

Laura glared at her.

 

"Xena isn't even a good insult," She snapped. "Lucy Lawless is hot," she finished smartly, her eyes still stubbornly set on the front.

 

Carmilla shrugged and sat deeper in her seat, looking entirely displeased.

 

The girl said very little after that, only commenting on and off about the bits she found completely ridiculous. When a group of bare-chested guys in small sailor shorts came on stage singing a very PG version of "we're on a boat", Carmilla looked so exasperated that Laura thought she'd just get up and leave.

 

Eventually, the welcome show ended and it was time to leave.

 

"Finally..." the brunette complained, getting up and stretching.

"Please," Laura scoffed. "Like you didn't love it. Your life consists of whining and making fun of everything and everyone like you're the superior being. This must have been your version of paradise."

"You hold me in such high esteem, cupcake... Please, continue to tell me how wonderful you think I am, it's lovely..." Carmilla said quietly, looking actually a bit hurt.

 

Laura frowned and wondered if she should apologise, but then the brunette started to walk away.

 

"I... where are you going?" Laura asked weakly.

"Don't know. Anywhere, but our room. I'm not tired and I think you've judged me enough for one day, don't you?" she replied with a shrug.

 

That struck Laura hard. Especially since Carmilla hadn't said it with any bite. Laura gaped at the brunette, guilt immediately filling her lungs.

 

"Carm... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," she apologised, feeling a bit choked.

"We both know that you meant it exactly like that cupcake," Carmilla replied with a soft smile. "But whatever, judge all you want, that's your prerogative. I'll see you tomorrow or something."

 

Carmilla gave Laura one last look before turning on her heels and disappearing down the hallway. The small girl stood still for a few seconds, biting her lips nervously before sighing and making her way to her room.

 

Okay, so perhaps Carmilla had a tiny little point. Laura _had_ been a bit judgemental, but the girl deserved it, right? It wasn't like the brunette was a ball of sunshine or anything. Laura had just been a bit more blunt about it than she usually was. Still, she felt guilty. For some reason she remembered the look of pure panic on Carmilla's face when she'd had her claustrophobia attack earlier and she felt instantly worse.

 

She'd be nicer tomorrow, Laura decided. This was just all new and she had to get used to it. She didn't think she'd ever even spent so much time with Carmilla ever. So, yeah, maybe she wasn't perfect, but neither was the other girl. Tomorrow would be better though, Laura was hopeful.

 

She got to her room a few minutes later. She entered and felt really tired all of a sudden. It had been a long day after all. Laura kicked off her shoes and made her way to her luggage to retrieve her pyjamas. She'd take a quick shower and go to bed. She didn't care if it was still pretty early, she was exhausted.

 

On her way to the bathroom, she spotted a pamphlet on the desk. She took it and smiled when she saw that it was a pamphlet about all the activities that would be available to them the next day. She opened it and a piece of paper fell to the floor.

 

Laura picked it up with a slight frown on her face and let it fall right back once she'd read the words on it. Her mouth fell as well and she felt her face whiten as she thought of the words she'd just read.

 

_Dear occupants of room K-307,_

_We hope you experienced a wonderful first day_

_aboard your Pied Piper travel line cruise. We also_

_hope that tomorrow will bring you just as many happy_

_memories. We would like to remind you that starting_

_this Tuesday, you are expected to present yourselves_

_at the room B-1224 for the dance lessons you've reserved._

_We know you will enjoy the experience and we wish you_

_a happy holiday._

_The Staff_

 

Laura picked up the paper and sat on the edge of her bed as she reread it over and over.

 

Dance lessons? With Carmilla? Things could simply not be simple, could they?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few of you have been asking me about an updating schedule. I don't really have one, but I'm not adverse to figuring one out. If you have a preference, a day and time that would fit you best, drop me a comment here or in my tumblr ask box and I'll try to figure out something that works for everyone :-)  
> Also, let me know what you liked best! I love hearing what you guys think!


	6. Chapter 5: There's no time like the present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 on the cruise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience and support :-) I hope you enjoy this one!

Chapter 5: There's no time like the present

It was a joke, right? It had to be a joke or something. Because there was no way in hell that Carmilla and she were registered for dancing lessons, Laura thought as she started pacing the room restlessly.

It had to be a joke because it couldn't be happening. Laura couldn't conceive it. Having to room with Carmilla to come on this cruise had been bad enough, but then she'd had to make that fake relationship deal for the sake of her job and it had been awful. Things couldn't get even worse now. They simply couldn't. Because surely Laura didn't deserve it, did she? She wasn't a horrible human being. She'd been kind to others and as understanding as possible. So surely, her karma couldn't suck to the point of adding dance lessons to her woes.

Laura reread the notice and sighed loudly. If this was a joke, it looked very real. The small girl tossed the paper on the desk and resumed her pacing.

Seriously, what had she ever done to deserve this? She felt bad, in a way, for freaking out so much. Carmilla wasn't the worst human being there was. Really, in the few seconds they'd laughed together in the auditorium, Laura had even considered her pleasant for the first time in her life. The problem was that the 'pleasant' side of the brunette was not the one she usually got to see. So really, having to endure dance lessons with her was not something Laura was willing to do. Besides, she didn't even like dancing all that much.

"This is a nightmare..." Laura mumbled, passing a hand through her hair.

She'd talk to Carmilla, she decided. She'd talk to the other girl and together they would find a way to cancel the class.

Laura sighed again and rubbed her eyes. She felt exhausted all of a sudden. It had been a really long day and she was more than ready to go to sleep. But first, she needed a warm shower. If she'd thought she'd take a quick one earlier, she now knew that a longer one was required. It would relax her tense muscles, help her unwind. She'd take refuge under the scalding water and, for a moment, she'd forget everything that was bothering her.

Laura smiled, she could already imagine the feeling. She walked to the desk and picked up the clothes she'd dropped there when she'd picked up the pamphlet earlier. The next second, she'd made her way over to the bathroom. She was barely passed the threshold when she almost fell on her face, tripping on something on the floor. She clicked the lights on and a groan escaped her lips when she saw the state of the bathroom.

"Urghhh, Carmilla!" she said angrily.

She closed her eyes in the hopes that when she opened them again the place wouldn't be such a mess. Of course, no such thing happened and when Laura opened her eyes, the bathroom still looked horrible. The was sludge everywhere, it seemed. Footprints on the floor along with clothes and a towel that had been discarded, but not picked up. There was a toothbrush on the edge of the sink with a tube of toothpaste left open and leaking everywhere. The shower walls were covered in dark hair and so was the drain.

Laura was disgusted. She sighed and kicked the clothes aside angrily. One day. She'd spent one day with Carmilla- one day in which she hadn't seen her at one point for several hours too- and Laura was already wondering how she would stop herself from strangling the girl in her sleep. She was cocky, untidy and downright unlikeable when she wasn't being annoyingly flirty. How on earth Lafontaine had thought this experience would resolve their on-going feud and make friends out of them two, the small girl didn't know, but she knew one thing; it wasn't happening.

Laura closed the door behind her and locked it. The last thing she needed was for Carmilla to come back to the room now and walk in on her naked. She'd never hear the end of it. Laura walked to the shower, turned the water on and undressed as she waited for the water to warm up.

When she walked in, seconds later, she felt an immediate wave of relief wash over her as the warm water hit her skin. Laura closed her eyes and ducked her head under the spray. She breathed in slowly, letting it all wash over her. Her golden hair was sticking to her cheeks, but she didn't care. With one hand holding herself on the plastic wall to her side and the other to the front, Laura felt grounded. Under the stream of water, nothing could reach her. She focused on her chest, expanding it with each breath, feeling it collapse with every exhale. She'd needed this, she realised with a small smile, after a few seconds.

Laura wasn't sure how long she stayed in the shower, but eventually she washed herself and got out. In a few more seconds, she was dressed and her hair was tucked into a towel. She walked back into the room, finding it empty still. Laura sighed and sat herself on the bed. She was more relaxed than she'd been a few moments ago, but she still wanted to talk to Carmilla about this whole dance lesson thing.

Waiting for her in complete boredom was not going to do any good though, so Laura grabbed the remote control from the bedside table and switched the tv on. She switched the channels for a moment, finally settling on the news and waited as patiently as she could.

two hours later though, Carmilla was still nowhere to be seen and Laura was getting impatient. Where the hell was she anyway?

Laura remembered the blonde barmaid she'd seen Carmilla with during the day and her heart squeezed a bit. Maybe that's where the brunette was. Maybe she'd arranged earlier to meet the barmaid and maybe Laura was waiting for her pointlessly.

She clenched her teeth and felt herself get irritated. She didn't even know why she cared so much. It wasn't as if Carmilla was her girlfriend or anything. God, Laura didn't even want her to be her girlfriend. Still, as far as everyone on this ship was concerned, they were a couple and if Carmilla was out flirting with some barmaid, Laura was entitled to be annoyed.

Just as she'd convinced herself though, the door opened and Carmilla walked in.

"There you are!" Laura called out before she had time to stop herself, standing onto her knees on the bed.

The brunette slowed down and let the door close behind her. She cocked her eyebrow curiously at the other girl and tilted her head.

"Here I am..." she said slowly, making her way to her luggage.  
"Where have you been?" Laura asked, frowning at how she sounded.  
"On the boat," Carmilla replied in a bored voice, digging through her luggage.  
"Ok... Well, I was waiting for you."

The brunette stood up, a curious frown on her face and looked Laura up and down.

"Judging by that lovely towel on your head, I'm going to go on a limb here and assume you weren't waiting for me for anything fun, so... what's the matter sweetheart?" she asked slowly.

Laura blushed and took off the towel on her head in one sweep.

"We need to talk," she said seriously, standing from the bed and walking towards the desk.

Carmilla rolled her eyes and groaned.

"Must we? It's been a long day cupcake and, honestly, I just want to go to sleep."

Laura gave her a pointed look and grabbed the notice she'd read earlier.

"Did you write me a poem, darling?" the brunette sneered as Laura walked towards her.  
"Just read it," the small girl huffed, almost shoving it into the brunette's hand.

It took a beat or two before the brunette reluctantly grabbed it and Laura waited expectantly, her hands on her hips, as the other girl read. As she did, her perfectly defined eyebrows got higher and higher on her forehead. She shook her head when she was done and rolled her eyes, handing the piece of paper back to Laura.

"Well?" the small girl asked, taking the notice.  
"Clearly, I didn't sign us up for those so unless you've been overcome with an intense desire to be near me- which I wouldn't blame you for- I'm going to assume this is yet another surprise from our ever so sweet friends." Carmilla explained lazily.  
"I didn't sign us up for those," Laura clarified.  
"Laf and Perry it is then," the brunette said with a sigh.  
"Yes!" the small girl exclaimed. "I can't believe those two! I mean first there's the couple thingy and now- where are you going?" she interrupted herself as Carmilla walked passed her towards the bathroom.  
"Going to brush my teeth."  
"Wait!" Laura called, following after her temporary roommate. "Is that it?!"  
"What d'you mean?" the girl demanded as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush.  
"Well!" the small girl started pointedly. "Obviously we have to do something about this! This is a problem! We did not sign up for dancing lessons and I don't want to do them!"

Carmilla had started brushing her teeth, so Laura's rant was met with an exasperated eye roll and it did nothing to help the small girl's patience.

"You don't want to do them either, right?!" she shot the brunette.  
"Not particularly," she mumbled through her mouthful of toothpaste.

Laura cringed in disgust which the brunette promptly ignored.

"Great! Wonderful," the small girl exclaimed. "So, we've got to do something about this, right? I mean, we can't do them."  
"Right," Carmilla replied after spitting her mouthful.

When she didn't add anything else, Laura sighed loudly.

"So?! What are you thinking?" she pressed.  
"That I'm beat and want to go to sleep," the brunette replied with a yawn.

Laura gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes.

"I meant about the dance lessons!"  
"Oh, did you?" Carmilla shot back sarcastically, making Laura's temper rise.  
"Look, for once in your life could you be actually helpful? I'm trying to figure this out!"

Carmilla shook her head and groaned.

"And obviously you need to figure this out right this instant," she mocked.  
"Well, what's wrong with that?" Laura defended.  
"So many things cupcake, so many things..." Carmilla exhaled. "But mainly, it's late and if I ever stay up with you all night, trust me darling, chit chat is not what we'll do."  
"Now is not the time for innuendos, Carmilla!" the small girl shot back seriously.  
"It's always the time for innuendos," the other girl replied in a bored tone, tossing her toothbrush lazily onto the sink. "Honestly, you need to loosen up. I can see your main artery from here. If you're not careful, it's going to pop," she finished, walking passed Laura and back into their room.

The small girl followed her with her eyes and they widened immediately when Carmilla grabbed the hem of her shirt and threw it above her head.

"What are you doing?!" Laura half gasped, half yelled, her cheeks instantly turning bright red.  
"I'm going to bed," the girl replied simply as she unbuttoned her jeans.

Laura's face felt hot and she threw her arms in the air slightly frantically.

"What about the dance lessons?" she asked as Carmilla took off her pants.  
"As far as I'm concerned, we can take care of it tomorrow," the brunette replied, putting on boxer shorts and moving her arms behind her back.

Laura frowned for half a second before she saw the other woman's bra loosen. She turned around swiftly with a squeak, her heart pumping stupidly fast.

"Can you please stop undressing in front of me!" she screamed, her voice comically high-pitched.  
"Don't act like you don't enjoy it," Carmilla replied smoothly, her voice a lot closer than Laura had expected it to be.

She turned around again, a wave of relief hitting her when she noticed that Carmilla had put on a black t-shirt. The relief was short lived though when she saw the girl's clothes sprawl everywhere on the floor. She frowned deeply and huffed.

"Also, would it kill you to clean up after yourself?! This place is a mess!"  
"I think it might," the girl said with an eye roll.  
"I know you like to think you're the center of the universe, Carmilla, but I have to share this space with you and I don't appreciate it looking like it's been bombed!"  
"Fine, if it'll make you stop whining relentlessly and let me sleep, I'll do it tomorrow," the brunette snapped, clearly getting just as annoyed as Laura already was.  
"Terrific! See if you can scrape all your hair out of the shower drain while you're at it!" Laura snapped back.  
"Fine!" Carmilla said loudly.  
"FINE!" Laura said even louder.

She was fuming now and so was Carmilla. They stared each other down for a few seconds before the brunette turned away and shoved the bed covers out of her way before climbing into bed looking irritated. Laura's nostrils flared as she turned the main bedroom's light switch off and then walked to her side of the bed.

She pushed the blankets aside and climbed into bed as well. Before settling down though, Laura grabbed some extra pillows from the floor and placed them between herself and Carmilla.

"Oh my god, are you twelve?!" the brunette asked her incredulously.  
"Just stay on your side of the bed," Laura snapped back petulantly.  
"You are the single most childish person I have ever met," Carmilla groaned before shuffling further away from the small girl.

Laura frowned and huffed, but didn't reply.

"Don't worry cutie, I won't fondle you in your sleep. You're not that irresistible and, besides, I would never abuse you like that," the brunette muttered after a few seconds, sounding insulted, but also partly hurt.

Laura felt guilty all of a sudden, but she frowned, gritted her teeth and refused to move. Her dad had always told her she was too stubborn for her own good.

***

Laura woke up the next day and, despite her fight with Carmilla, she'd slept rather well. The small girl yawned and stretched before sending a look at the other side of the bed. She spotted Carmilla instantly. The girl had fallen asleep with her back to her, but she'd moved during the night because she was facing her now, her hair sprawled around her face and the pillow that Laura had childishly put between them as some sort of barrier in her arms, hugged close to her chest. Her features looked delicate, Laura realised, with a bit of surprise. There was no frown, no arrogant little smirk, just a look of pure calm and peace. It looked nice on her, Laura thought, she looked nice. Laura blushed before averting her eyes and shuffling out of bed.

If she'd been angry at Carmilla the day before, she now felt a bit ridiculous and guilty. She could still remember the other girl's voice, the hurt undertones when she'd told Laura she would never abuse her. The small girl had crossed a line, she knew she did. She'd been angry and childish and she had just wanted to make a point of physically separating herself from the other girl. She hadn't really believed Carmilla would touch her inappropriately, she truly never had. She didn't get along with the girl, true. She thought the girl was callous and arrogant most of the time, true. But she'd never ever think her an abuser. Carmilla was annoying and overtly flirty, sure, but even so, she wasn't a predator. Laura knew that.

Yet, that's how she'd made her feel.

The small girl picked up some clothes and moved to the bathroom with a frown on her face. She hated that, hated when she hurt other people's feelings. In general, it wasn't something she did. If anything, Laura had always prided herself in the fact that she was open minded and kind. She'd been appreciated for those qualities, loved for them even.

But Carmilla... Carmilla had a knack of getting the more stubborn and short-tempered side of her out. Laura didn't know what it was about the girl, what it was that made her flare up so fast.

It had always been this way too. Ever since Laura had met her, Carmilla could get a rise out of her by doing very little. She could get Laura's pulse increasing and her brows furrowing with just the simplest grin and when she did actually purposefully try to piss her off it always worked a little too well. Like the year the brunette had drawn Laura's name for secret Santa and had given her Prozac stating that she'd felt like it was the perfect gift. The small girl had been ridiculously furious, so much so that Perry had had to drag her to the kitchen to cool off as Lafontaine scolded a laughing Carmilla.

Laura closed her eyes as her temper rose from the memory. No matter how much Carmilla had annoyed her in the past, it didn't change the fact that she'd hurt her feelings the night before.

Laura sighed as she pulled off her pyjamas and started to get dress. She'd have to apologize to the other girl. There was no way around it. Her actions had caused unnecessary pain and Laura just couldn't let it go.

Okay so maybe a part of her wanted to do just that, but Laura would not let that part of her win. She'd talk to Carmilla, she decided. As much as it pained her to even imagine, Laura would not be a coward and brush it off. She'd be the adult she was supposed to be and she'd apologize. She could do it.

Laura exited the bathroom fully dressed as quietly as she could. She'd brushed her hair and teeth so that she was ready to head to breakfast. When she walked into the room, Carmilla was still sleeping, looking just as peaceful as she had earlier, her arms still clutched around the same yellow pillow. She was breathing heavily, almost snoring and Laura found herself smiling softly involuntarily.

Laura debated mentally for a minute whether or not she ought to wake the brunette up, but when Carmilla hummed contently, she bit her bottom lip and decided against it. She could let her rest.

***

It was still early when Laura arrived in the dining hall where a breakfast buffet had been set up. She smiled to herself, feeling her stomach grumble at the sight of the various pastries and breads and croissants and jams. She licked her lips unconsciously and almost skipped to the table.

A minute later, she'd filled a plate with as much sugar as she could and had found a place to sit. She'd just taken a bite of a divinely good almond croissant and was moaning in pleasure when someone cleared their throat comically behind her.

Laura's head snapped back and a deep blush covered her cheeks.

"Danny! Hi!" the small girl squeaked in delighted surprise.  
"Good morning," the tall ginger greeted her politely.  
"Yeah good morning... Hi..." Laura replied, a bit transfixed and feeling herself blush even further when Danny laughed softly in response.  
"Hi," the girl repeated anyway with a little bite on her bottom lip.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Danny seemed to snap herself out of it.

"Would you like something to drink? Coffee, orange juice?" she offered, showing the two big jugs she was carrying.  
"Oh! Uh, would it be possible to have hot chocolate?" Laura asked shyly.  
"Of course!" Danny assured with a broad smile and Laura felt her heart flutter.

This was becoming a normal occurrence for Laura and it had become quite clear to her that she had a not-so-subtle crush on their waitress. Indeed, every time the tall woman had smiled at her the day before, Laura had felt a bit light headed and her heart skip a beat. She hoped it wouldn't become too problematic in the days to come. She was supposed to be in a relationship after all and crushing on their waitress wasn't exactly what taken girls did. She couldn't help it though, Danny was gorgeous and Laura was only human.

"I'll be back in a minute," Danny told her softly before leaving.

Laura watched her go, her heart heavy. Trust her to meet her dream woman at the worst possible time. There was no denying that Danny looked like everything Laura had ever wanted out of a steady girlfriend and there she was pretending to be taken. The whole situation really wasn't ideal.

Laura turned her attention back to her plate and continued to eat for a few minutes before the tall ginger made her way back to her with a steaming mug in her hands. She dropped it in front of the small girl and Laura grinned happily when she saw the floating marshmallows.

"I uh... added the marshmallows. I hope you like them, I mean, I can take this back if you don't..." the waitress explained a bit goofily.

Laura shook her head, her eyes shining in marvel.

"No need. This is perfect! Thank you so much Danny..." she reassured.

The girl beamed and Laura sighed internally. Yup, Danny Lawrence was the stuff of dreams.

"Should I... bring something else?" Danny offered a few seconds later, tucking a lock of ginger hair behind her ear. "Will your partner be joining you?"  
"My what?" Laura asked dumbly, completely distracted by the curve of Danny's jaw.

She snapped herself out of it though when she saw the other girl frown and chuckled.

"Your partner..." Danny repeated slowly. "You know, petite, dark hair?"

Laura left a strangled chuckle leave her throat.

"Oh right! Of course," She squeaked awkwardly. "Hum, that won't be necessary... my uh... Carmilla is sleeping in," she explained.  
"Okay, well, wave me over if you need anything else..." Danny completed with a soft smile. "Enjoy your day, Miss Hollis."  
"Laura!" the small girl snapped, making Danny's eyes widen. "Just... please call me Laura," she continued much softer.

The waitress' smile reappeared and she nodded.

"Laura..." Danny tested, the name sounding special on her lips. "It fits you really well..."

Laura's cheeks flushed and Danny bit her bottom lip shyly again.

"I'll see you around, Laura," she repeated and the small girl swore her heart did a little dance.

Danny left with a smile and Laura sighed. This crush was definitely going to be problematic.

***

After Laura was done with breakfast, she decided to make her way to the excursion booth. It was still early so she was hoping to catch it almost empty. Since the whole cruise holiday had come sort of as a last minute thing for her, she hadn't had time to book anything online before leaving and when she'd passed by the booth the day before it had been so full that Laura had decided to post-pone her visit. Today though, the small girl really wanted to look at her options and book a few things if possible.

Laura found the booth quickly and just like she'd hoped it was too early for it to be really crowded. She smiled brightly and walked up to it. Several minutes later, Laura was surrounded by pamphlets and her eyes were glowing with excitement. There were so many options, so many things to see, it was a bit overwhelming. There were a few excursions without any room left and of course, the ones for today were departing soon so Laura couldn't join one of those, but there were still plenty more. She'd been flipping through pages when something caught her eye. She started reading and her eyes widened almost comically as her mouth opened.

"Can you please tell me about this one?" she asked the man at the booth, her fingers almost trembling.  
"The Mayan cultural experience?" he asked and Laura nodded vigorously.

He offered her a genuine smile and a chuckle before launching into a detailed explanation. The excursion was for their stop in Costa Maya Mexico and according to the man, it was the perfect way to see the city through the eyes of the Mayan. The excursion was a kind of cultural immersion tour where you got to listen to the modern Maya language, learn about time-honored traditions, join in on a home-cooked meal and meet a local family. It was everything Laura had been dreaming about since leaving. An actual excursion where she could see the way locals lived, an excursion where she could learn about another culture. Sure, it probably would be a bit bias, but Laura was confident that she would manage to dig a little deeper and learn loads of stuff. She grinned excitedly and almost squealed in happiness.

"Please tell me there's still room for this!" she told the man animatedly.

He smiled fondly at her before checking his books.

"Yeah, still some room," he confirmed to Laura's delight. "The stop to Costa Maya is set on the fifth day of the cruise, so this coming Thursday," he informed her. "Would you like me to sign you and your partner up for it?"

Laura's smile faltered a little.

"My... my partner has to sign up too?" she asked uncertainly.  
"Ah yes. This is actually a pretty popular attraction and since this cruise is a couple special, we've decided to book this excursions in pairs only," the man explained.

The small girl's smile was gone now. If this activity was a dream come true for her, Laura had high doubts Carmilla would feel the same. It wasn't that she didn't think the brunette could appreciate to learn about another culture, but Laura was doubtful that she'd do it just for her. Especially with how Laura had insulted her the day before. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Girlfriend not into that sort of excursions I assume?" the man asked gently.  
"Yeah... no..." Laura lied.

She had no idea if that sort of thing interested Carmilla, but it was simpler to go with that excuse than find another one on her own. It wasn't as if she could just tell him that since Carmilla wasn't actually her girlfriend, she wasn't sure if the other girl would want to do an excursion with her.

"Perhaps you'd like to consult her first?" he offered.  
"Yeah, I think that'd be wiser, but... well, what if there's no more room when I come back?" Laura asked completely crestfallen.

Her expression must have been quite pitiful, because the man smiled at her softly and laughed a little.

"Oh don't look so heartbroken, love," he told her warmly. "I'm not supposed to do that, but I just can't stand that sad frown on you... I'll put your names down as if you've reserved already and just get back to me later today or early tomorrow, so that I know if I need to remove the reservation, okay?"  
"Oh my god, really?!" Laura exclaimed happily.

The man chuckled and nodded and Laura was so incredibly delighted that she jumped to hug him. She still wasn't sure if she'd manage to convince Carmilla of booking the excursion with her, but at least now, if she did manage, she knew she'd have the room to actually go.

"I'm sorry this is so intrusive! But I'm so grateful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Laura said rapidly, letting go of the man.

He laughed again and shook his head.

"It's okay, hun, you're quite welcome."  
"Well thank you! Uh, Jeffrey!" Laura finished, looking at the man's nametag.

He beamed and so did Laura. They continued to chat for a bit, the small girl asking a few questions and making some reservations she could on her own. Maybe half an hour later, she was leaving the booth with a broad grin on her face and a goodbye wave to Jeffrey.

It was almost 10 o'clock now and Laura had yet to get off the boat. For their second day onboard, the ship had stopped at its cay in the Bahamas. Their cay was situated on an island called Eleuthera and from what Laura knew, there would be a beach party awaiting them and activities like such planned. While that was very nice, the small girl had no intention of attending. She'd planned a whole different day for herself. But first, she needed to grab her backpack.

 

Laura winced as she reluctantly made her way to her room. It wasn't that she wanted to avoid the girl she knew might still be there per se, but the thought of seeing the brunette wasn't something that enchanted her either. If Laura was honest with herself, it wasn't even seeing Carmilla that was the problem, but more so the impending apology she knew she had to make. Besides, if Laura knew anything at all about the other girl, it was that Carmilla would most certainly not make it easy for her to present her apologies. It was only understandable, therefore, that the small girl was not looking forward to it and was internally praying for her stupid roommate to be gone.

As if someone had heard her prayers, Carmilla was nowhere to be found when Laura made it to their shared room. Quickly, she grabbed her backpack and headed back out. Maybe she was being a bit cowardly, but she really didn't want to face Carmilla right now. She'd do it though, she told herself. She really would, just not right now.

***

A while later, Laura had finally made it to shore. With her feet digging in the white sand and the feeling of the sun on her skin, Laura could not stop smiling. The beach itself looked marvellous. There was already several travellers set up, couples everywhere and laughter filling the air. There were little colourful houses in the distance, the faint smell of barbecue floating around and all of it surrounded by tall palm trees and magical aquamarine water.

Laura couldn't have been more pleased. For the first time since departing from Fort Lauderdale, she truly felt like she was in paradise. She bit her bottom lip, feeling her body fill with glee and started walking, hitching her backpack higher as she did.

For all the nice activities the ship's private beach offered, it had been clear to Laura the minute she'd googled the island that she would not spend her time there. It wasn't that she couldn't stand to lie down for a day and relax. In all honesty, she probably needed to do exactly that, but there was something else she was adamant to see and nothing would deter her. Besides, Laura knew full well that they'd be back here the following week. She would take advantage of the beach then.

The small girl walked for a few minutes before finding the first thing she was looking for, a small stand selling what looked like wrapped sandwiches. She walked to it, her lips curved in what felt like a never ending smile. This day was too beautiful and she was too happy to stop. It was a good thing that no one was asking her to.

Making a quick review of the things in inventory, it didn't take much time for Laura to order a grilled chicken sandwich and a bottle of water. Once she'd paid for the items, Laura placed them in her backpack and started hunting for the second thing she'd been looking for. It took her a few minutes before she saw it a few meters away from the beach.

The small girl smirked and walked over confidently. Another few minutes later, Laura was ready to start her day properly, rolling a slightly beat up red bicycle beside her. She walked like that until she reached the road and paused for a minute to check the map she'd packed in her bag. Once she was satisfied, she straddled the red mount and she was off.

Laura had always been a bit of an avid biker. She liked the feel of the wind on her skin and the strain of the effort in her legs. She liked how quicker than walking a bicycle was, yet it was still better for her general health than driving everywhere. In her College days, Laura had biked everywhere. Her dad had thought her a bit too adventurous- although that wasn't saying much since her dad usually thought that of her regardless of what she was doing- but she'd loved it to no end.

This, biking in a complete foreign environment was something she'd never really done before. Sure, she'd travelled a bit to Europe and she'd rented bicycles there, but she'd been with friends then and the roads had been busier, it had been in cities. There was something completely different about being on her own now, on her own and surrounded by nature. Apart from her and her ride, there was only a random car passing her once in a while. It was liberating to be this free, Laura thought.

The small girl biked like that for a long time. She had more endurance than would have seemed and didn't really need to stop. Of course, when she'd spot a view she just couldn't pass by, she'd stop regardless, getting her camera from her bag and snapping a few pictures, before mounting the bike again and continuing towards her destination. Laura knew that the hours were passing quickly and she knew that she didn't have that much time if she wanted to be back before the ship departed without her, but it was impossible not to be blown away by all the new things she was seeing.

About 2 hours after she'd left the beach, Laura reached the spot she'd been heading to. Bringing the bicycle to a stop, the small girl put her feet on the ground beside her, her mouth falling open and her eyes widening.

"Wow..." she muttered, her eyes taking it all in.

The glass window bridge was the narrowest point of Eleuthera Island. Surrounded by gray rocks of maximum 30 feet wide, the bridge itself was rather short, connecting the northern and southern points of the island. But this wasn't really why Laura had wanted to see this spot so bad. The real reason was because, in this exact place, the deep rich blue water of the Atlantic Ocean met the turquoise hues of the Caribbean sea and the result was truly breathtaking.

Laura stepped off her bike completely and rolled it onto the grey surrounding rocks. The road was narrow enough for the small girl not to take more room than was necessary. When she had walked at a distance that satisfied her, Laura put the bicycle on the ground and retrieved her camera.

She wasn't sure how long she walked around the place, adjusting her camera settings and taking as many pictures as she wanted, but it felt like no time at all to her. This, Laura thought dreamily, this was the reason she'd always wanted to travel for her journalism. Seeing places like this, hearing the waves from both the ocean and the sea hit the shore and the birds singing was more than enough to make the small girl alive. There was no other word to describe how she was feeling, all her senses tingling, her eyes drinking in every detail they could. Laura was at ease, her heart soaking up the beauty and she'd rarely been this happy.

She sat down after a while, taking her sandwich and water out and eating eagerly. The food tasted delicious and Laura didn't know if it was because of how energized she was feeling or if that food cart really had been selling some quality chicken. Maybe it was a bit of both, but she didn't care either way. Nothing could ruin her day.

When she was done eating, Lara let herself relax against the rock, her eyes turned upwards observing the sky and the clouds one moment only to turn her attention to the sea or the ocean the next. It was all almost too good to be true.

Before too long though, Laura had to grab her rented bicycle once more and go back to where she came from. This time, she didn't stop much on her way and it took her an hour and a half to reach the beach. She dismounted the bike and rolled it over to its owner, a pleased smile on her lips and her legs aching from the effort of the ride.

Laura checked her watch and grinned when she realised she still had a full hour left before she needed to make her way back aboard the ship. With that in mind, she dug her hands into her pockets and headed for the beach. When she reached it, Laura kicked off her shoes and placed them into her bag before letting her bare feet sink into the warm white sand.

She continued to walk after that, feeling more and more content as the minutes wore on. There was still a fair amount of people on the beach, couples playing volley ball and others Frisbee. Laura found herself smiling almost forlornly when she saw two young girls splashing each other in the water before one grabbed the other by the waist and kissed her soundly.

She herself would have loved to have that. Someone with whom she would talk and laugh about everything. Someone she would tell her fears to, rational and irrational ones. Someone she would love passionately with all her heart and someone who would love her just as much. At 24 years old, Laura had never felt that kind of pull towards someone else, but it was okay. It wasn't as if she'd never had girlfriends before and more often than not she was the one to end things. If there was one thing Laura refused to do, it was to settle. Perhaps she was a bit of a romantic, but she truly believed she would meet her perfect girl one day. Not perfect because she had no flaws, but perfect because her flaws would be ones that Laura could handle.

One day, Laura would meet someone that would complete her, not because she wasn't complete on her own, but because that someone would just fit with her in all the right ways. She'd find the Lafontaine to her Perry, Laura often thought to herself with a little smile. That's what she wanted. A kind of love that was perfect in its imperfection, just like the love her best friend had found with Lafontaine all those years ago. She was a patient woman though, she could wait until it happened. Besides, in the mean time, she could always enjoy being single and have all the fun in the world looking.

Or at least that's what Laura told herself as she spotted a woman standing alone in the distance trying to put on a tank top over her head. The small girl couldn't see her face at the moment, but she could see her body and boy was it a nice body. There was a small sheen of sweat covering it, glistening in the afternoon sun. Her legs looked long and lithe and her stomach was flat with a hint of muscle twisting with every movement of her body. Laura allowed herself to stare shamelessly until the girl finally pulled her tank top on and her eyes lifted up to see if the stranger's face was just as gorgeous as her body. When her eyes reached their destination though, Laura almost stopped dead in her tracks, as if she'd been sprayed by a bucket of cold water, because the stranger was no stranger at all, but rather Carmilla.

The small girl gulped slowly, feeling her cheek flush in embarrassment at the thought that she'd just been ogling the brunette.

"I'm such an idiot..." Laura muttered to herself, blushing even more when Carmilla bent down to pick up her shorts and her eyes were immediately drawn to her ass.

When the brunette stood up again and pulled on the piece of apparel, her eyes lifted, as if sensing someone was staring at her and they met Laura's. The small girl saw a hint of surprise in them before it quickly disappeared and the girl smirked at her, an eyebrow quirking upwards.

Laura bit her bottom lip and started to walk in Carmilla's direction. Walking away would have been weird anyway.

"Hey," she said when she was close enough.  
"Hello, cutie. What brings you to this part of the beach?" Carmilla greeted her casually.  
"Oh uh, nothing really... Just walking around. I rented a bike earlier and I just got back. I figured I'd explore the beach a bit," she explained with a shrug.

Carmilla nodded, but didn't add anything. There was definitely some tension between them and although the brunette had greeted her politely, the usual hints of teasing that the girl always used to address her had been distinctively absent. Laura couldn't pretend she didn't know why. She dug her hands into her pocket, rocking on her feet uncomfortably. This was the quietest Carmilla and she had ever been around each other and for some reason, Laura found it even more unnerving than when the other girl was annoying her. Perhaps the awkwardness came from the fact that Laura knew that she'd messed up the day before and this was probably why things were so tense right now between them.

After a few seconds of silence and an inquisitive look that Laura had ignored in favour of worrying her bottom lip with her teeth, Carmilla exhaled awkwardly and looked around herself.

"Well this was a lovely chat," she deadpanned. "I'll see you later, I guess," she muttered getting ready to leave.

Laura rolled her eyes and almost let her leave, before stepping forward and grabbing the other girl's wrist with one of her hands.

"Carm wait!" she said a bit more forcefully than she'd planned.

When the brunette turned around, looking uncertain, Laura bit her bottom lip again anxiously. Carmilla didn't say anything though and waited for the other girl to talk.

"I... I just... I wanted to apologise..." the small girl eventually said, looking at her feet.

She chanced a look at Carmilla and when she saw the blank expression there, she cleared her throat and continued.

"For last night... I didn't mean... well I didn't put that pillow there because I was afraid you'd... touch me or something. I just..." she trailed off with a shrug. "I was just mad at you."

As her words ended, Laura caught Carmilla's gaze and was transfixed. The other girl was looking at her intensely and for a second Laura wondered why. Then, she realised that the girl was trying to see if she was sincere.

"I know you'd never do that, okay?" Laura said softly, her fingers squeezing Carmilla's wrist on their own volition.

They were quiet after that, their eyes still locked, and the longer it lasted, the less comfortable Laura felt. There was something in Carmilla's eyes that she couldn't quite place and she had no idea what to do with it. She seriously didn't know what to do with this serious and intense Carmilla and she needed this moment to end.

Quickly, she let go of Carmilla's wrist and shrugged.

"I mean, don't get me wrong. I still think you're annoying and all. Just not, you know, an abuser," she continued with another shrug. "And you deserved better than me insinuating that so... I'm sorry."

Slowly, Carmilla grinned and nodded.

"Thanks, cupcake," she replied sincerely and Laura's heart fluttered in relief.

They grinned at each other for a second or two before Carmilla seemed to shake herself out of it and replaced her grin with a sly smirk.

"As long as you do know that if I ever touch you in the night, it'll be because you're asking for it, we're all good," she said with a suggestive wriggle of her eyebrows.

Laura rolled her eyes hard and half scoffed, half laughed. This Carmilla she knew how to handle.

"In your dreams Karnstein," she shot back playfully.  
"Oh yeah? You sure about that, darling? I saw you ogling me earlier..." the brunette told her, her eyes full of mirth.

Laura's face turned crimson and she opened her mouth to protest, but shut it when nothing came out. Carmilla laughed in delight and Laura groaned, feeling beyond embarrassed.

"That- that..." she tried to squeak, but the brunette shook her head.  
"It's okay. I don't mind. I completely understand, I have a great body," the other girl reassured her with a wink and Laura wanted nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow her.

Carmilla chuckled again, obviously taking pleasure in Laura's pain.

"Speaking of..." she said when she was done laughing. "I was heading back to the ship to hit the shower. I smell disgusting."  
"No you don't," Laura shot back without thinking. "You smell like the sun."

When she caught Carmilla's amused raised eyebrow, the small girl almost smacked herself in the face.

"I mean, like you've been in the sun. All day. Which you have," she mumbled grumpily.

The brunette chuckled at her discomfort and Laura glared at her.

"Anyway, were you heading back or...?" Carmilla asked, deciding to spare the small girl further embarrassment.  
"No," Laura shook her head. "I'm going to walk a bit more."

The brunette nodded her approval.

"Alright, I'll see you for dinner tonight then, darling?" Carmilla asked a bit louder.

A few people turned around to look at them and Laura sighed before nodding.

"Great," the brunette said taking a step forward.

Laura felt herself tense and gulped slowly when she spotted the almost predatory look in the girl's eyes. A second later, there were only a few inches separating them as Carmilla placed a gentle hand on her side, the tip of her fingers reaching behind the petite's back.

Then, she moved forward and Laura almost stopped breathing when the girl's lips passed inches away from her own.

"Try not to look this traumatized, baby," Carmilla whispered teasingly in her ear before placing her lips on the edge of the small girl's jaw.

She lingered there a bit and the only coherent thought that Laura could muster was that she was reaping exactly what she'd sown the day before. Still, it was only a few seconds before Carmilla stepped away again, her hand letting go of Laura, as she began to walk away, but not before she'd turned around one last time to send the small girl one last wink.

Laura remembered to breathe then, her heart beating furiously inside her ribcage. She stood there stupidly for a few seconds before someone addressed her.

"You two look like a lovely couple," an older woman told her sincerely.  
"Oh, uh, thanks," Laura replied with a tight smile, her cheeks red.

The older woman chuckled and walked away, muttering about young love as she did. Laura frowned and groaned and turned around to continue her walk on the beach, cursing Carmilla mentally.

***

Laura had gone back aboard about an hour later. During her walk on the beach, she'd remembered about the excursion in Mexico and about her need to ask Carmilla about it. She'd almost dashed right back to their room when she'd remembered, but had managed to calm herself down. She'd see Carmilla for dinner and she'd ask her then.

Laura's stomach lurched nervously as she walked to her room. She wasn't exactly sure how to approach the other girl about this. She wasn't sure how to present it in a way that would make the girl actually want to come. And Laura needed her to agree to this. She wanted it too much herself to miss it.

If Laura wasn't sure how to approach Carmilla, there was one thing she was sure of and it was that no matter how infuriating the girl would be tonight, she needed to be nice and patient with her. It would do her absolutely no good to antagonise the brunette right before asking her a favour of sorts. It was easier said than done, Laura realised, but she had to at least try. Perhaps the evening would go smoothly and Carmilla wouldn't be too annoying. She could always hope.

When Laura finally reached the room, she opened the door with apprehension. She needn't have worried though because the moment the small girl stepped inside, she realised that it was empty. Sighing in relief, she grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. She cringed a little when she saw dark hair all over the shower, but at least there was no towel or dirty clothes scattered on the floor. She could focus on that. It was an improvement.

Laura showered quickly before starting to get dressed and prepared. Usually, the small girl would have just thrown something on quickly, but tonight that wasn't an option because it was a mandatory formal wear dinner. To be honest, Laura didn't love the idea of these dinners, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she pulled out the clothes she'd brought for the occasion and got dressed accordingly.

A couple of minutes later, Laura was ready to go, a black skirt hugging her from waist to knees with a lacy sleeveless white top tucked into it. She had let her hair loose, but had braided her fringe back. All completed with light make-up and a simple pair of black heels, Laura was pretty satisfied of her look. It was a good thing really because if she was supposed to show extreme patience tonight, starting the evening off in a good mood would surely help.

After one last look at herself in the mirror, Laura picked up her handbag and left for the dinner hall. Carmilla hadn't come back to the room during the time she had gotten ready and she could only assume that the other girl would meet her directly at their table.

When Laura arrived in the dinner hall a few minutes later, she made her way to the table they'd been assigned to the day before and found it empty. She rolled her eyes slightly, but didn't allow herself to overreact. Dinner still hadn't started and Carmilla wasn't technically late yet.

10 minutes later though when a smiling Danny had brought her water glasses and Carmilla was still nowhere to be seen, Laura started to get angry. She closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. She could not muck this up. She had to be stronger than this, stronger than Carmilla was annoying. It was a tall order, in her opinion, but she was strong willed and she could do it.

Laura still had her eyes closed when a voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Well don't you look like a virgin sacrifice," the unmistakable voice of Carmilla said.

Laura's eyes snapped open and the second they had, she wished they hadn't. Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened as Carmilla smirked at her calmly.

"What are you wearing?!" Laura hissed.  
"Don't you like it cupcake?" the brunette replied still smirking.

The small girl's eyes dropped to Carmilla's outfit and she clenched her teeth. In truth, the problem wasn't whether or not Laura liked the outfit because, admittedly, Carmilla looked pretty freaking good in her usual skin-tight ripped black jeans and her black v-neck t-shirt with a plaid red shirt thrown on top of it. No, the problem wasn't that Carmilla looked bad, the problem was that she was in no way wearing a formal attire.

"It's formal dress night!" Laura continued still looking a bit shocked as the other girl sat beside her.  
"Wearing formal attire for dinner is a century-old tradition which original purpose was to leave behind the dirt and smell of a day spent on horseback or in the city. This is hardly relevant today. I don't abide by such arbitrary rules," Carmilla explained in a bored tone.

Laura gaped at her for a few seconds before opening her mouth to continue arguing. The second she did though, she remembered that she'd promised herself that she would not get angry at the other girl. Laura closed her mouth and clenched her teeth. There was something almost physically painful about holding her tongue.

"Fine," she said a bit stiffly after a few seconds. "But aren't you worried you'll be thrown out for not respecting the dress code?" she asked unable to stop at least that one question.  
"I'd like to see them try," Carmilla scoffed haughtily. "I am the guest on this ship and they better respect my wishes."

Laura bit her cheeks and tried to smile in response, but she was fairly sure it looked a lot more like a scowl. Decidedly, she had a horrible karma if Carmilla had chosen to be a brat on the day the small girl needed to ask her something.

"Okay..." she mumbled meekly, grabbing her glass of water and taking a long sip.

Her insides were fuming and Laura had rarely wanted a distraction more badly than she wanted one now. They only stayed silent for a few seconds though before Carmilla spoke again.

"Is that it?" she asked, sounding genuinely surprised.  
"What do you mean?" Laura replied, not even looking at the brunette.

She could see other travellers looking at their table with disapproving glances and barely hidden pointed fingers and it was making her even more angry. She was going to kill Carmilla.

"I can see your discontentment from here. There's almost smoke coming out of your ears, yet you've only said 'fine'. So, I'm asking, what's wrong with you?" the brunette explained, her eyes not leaving Laura for a second.

The small girl licked her lips nervously, her jaw still tense. She could see some members of the staff shaking their head disapprovingly while looking at them from the corner of her eye and it wasn't helping the situation. She took a deep breath before answering.

"Well..." she started, carefully weighting her words. "You are a completely free and independent woman. You can dress the way you want. It's none of my business. I have no right to complain."

Laura was pretty proud of her diplomatic answer until Carmilla scoffed.

"When has that ever stopped you before?"

The small girl narrowed her eyes. This was not helping.

"Look, let's just drop it okay? I may not agree with your decision to break the dress code, but clearly that won't change anything. I don't want to argue with you. It would be completely pointless."  
"Again," Carmilla replied with a curious frown. "When has that ever stopped you before?"

Yeah, Laura was most definitely going to kill her. She could feel herself reddening in anger and if the brunette didn't shut up soon, she was inevitably going to yell at her.

"It's stopping me now," she said stiffly, making Carmilla's eyebrows rise even higher on her face.

Then, as if the girl had an actual sixth sense about things, her confusion morphed into amusement, her lips curving into a smirk.

"You need to ask me something," Carmilla stated confidently.

Laura felt the colour drain from her face.

"I... No, that's not... I..." she mumbled stupidly, making the other girl laugh.  
"Oh yes, you definitely need something from me!" the brunette cut her off gleefully.  
"No!" Laura tried to deny.  
"No?" Carmilla said, a mischievous look appearing on her face. "So the fact that you're being uncharacteristically nice to me is a mere coincidence?"  
"I'm not being uncharacteristically nice. I just don't see a reason for me to get mad at you at the moment," the small girl lied nervously.

She regretted it instantly though when it made Carmilla's eyes glint.

"Oh is that so? So if I do make you mad, you'll be just as exasperatingly obnoxious about it as you usually are?" she drawl.  
"Of course..." Laura replied tightly, her temper rising again.

She had a bad feeling she knew what Carmilla was going to try to do next. Her bad feeling only intensified when the brunette dragged her chair closer, her eyes unblinking and fixed on her.

"And does this, me getting closer, make you mad, cutie?" she asked, her voice dangerously low.  
"Nope," Laura replied sternly, trying not to stare into the depths of Carmilla's eyes.  
"It usually does..."  
"Well not today," Laura lied.  
"Good..." The brunette smirked and scooted even closer.

Then, she reached her fingers forward, bringing them to the small girl's hair. She pushed a lock aside and let her fingers run down the length of her neck. Laura shivered under the careful touch, her heart speeding up a little. She wanted nothing more than to move away from the brunette, but she had a feeling that was exactly what the other girl wanted. Laura would not give her the satisfaction.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?" Carmilla asked lazily.  
"Not one bit," Laura lied through her teeth. "Besides, we have to keep up appearances." She tried to justify.  
"That's very true, darling," the other girl nodded, her fingers continuing their trail on the small girl's body.

Laura wasn't sure what she was regretting the most now; the stupid explanation she'd just provided or wearing a sleeveless top. She could see the rise and falls of her chest as Carmilla trailed her fingers along her collarbone and her shoulder, a crooked smirk still firmly on her lips, looking entirely too satisfied with herself. Laura really wanted to yell at her, tell her to stop, but she couldn't. Carmilla knew something was up, Laura was sure of it. She wasn't an idiot. The other girl knew and she was doing everything to get a rise out of her, she was goading her until Laura revealed what she had refused to earlier.

The small girl was convinced she wouldn't fall into her trap though. At least she had been until Carmilla decided to drag her fingers downwards, dangerously close to her cleavage. Laura just couldn't help herself then, she grabbed the fingers forcefully and pulled them back with a squeak and deep frown, her cheeks bright red.

"What's wrong, honey?" Carmilla asked her, her eyes still flashing menacingly, her stupid smirk unshakable.

Laura clenched her teeth and narrowed her eyes a little.

"Are you getting mad at me cutie?" the brunette asked. "I thought you wanted to keep up appearances... Am I not doing exactly that?"

Laura didn't answer, willing herself to relax.

"As your girlfriend, shouldn't I be allowed to touch you in all the right places?" the girl continued undeterred. "Don't be so uptight, creampuff."  
"I'm not uptight!" Laura shot back despite herself.

Carmilla's grin widened.

"Is that a hint of bite in your tone? Are you getting angry? Already?" she asked and the small girl's eyes narrowed. "Baby, we're just starting to have fun..."

Laura sent the brunette her meanest glare, her eyes almost slits now. That didn't seem to stop Carmilla in the slightest however. After licking her lips slowly, she reached her hand forward again and this time she grabbed the other girl's hand between her long fingers.

"You know if you just admitted that you need me... and told me what for, I would stop," the brunette said slowly, bringing Laura's hand closer to her. "Such pride and ego in such a little body..." she muttered almost to herself, kissing the top of the small girl's hand. "Do you even remember why you're fighting so hard right now? Maybe, secretly, you're enjoying this..." Carmilla mocked before taking one of Laura's fingertip between her lips and licking it teasingly.

The feeling travelled through Laura's body like a shockwave and she finally snapped her hand out of the brunette's grasp.

"You are literally the worst!" she hissed through her teeth, her cheeks crimson.

Carmilla laughed as if she was pleased with herself and, for a moment, Laura really considered throttling her.

"Are you finally mad now?" the brunette asked her still looking freaking happy.  
"Noooo!" Laura shot back sarcastically with an eye roll. "Not mad at all! What do you think genius?! God! You're so infuriating!" she whined angrily.

The brunette smiled and it only served to make Laura even angrier.

"Well now that you've dropped that ridiculously poor act, perhaps you can tell me what it is you need me for..." Carmilla suggested.

Laura shook her head in disbelief.

"Why are you such a raging bi- ba-" the small girl started, but cut herself off when she saw Danny approaching their table. "A uh... ba... beautiful person... such a ragingly beautiful person," Laura finished, plastering a fake smile on her face.

Carmilla had to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from bursting into laughter. She managed to keep it in though and grabbed Laura's hand once again, giving Laura one last little smirk before changing her expression.

"I truly am not..." Carmilla said softly, every hint of smugness gone from her features. "It's only your love that makes me look so. I am, however, if not ragingly beautiful, unbelievably lucky to have you. You're the real beauty, sweetheart."

Laura gulped slowly and blushed, her anger momentarily forgotten. If there was one thing the small girl had to admit, it was that Carmilla had a way with words.

"What do you think?" Carmilla said suddenly, turning to Danny who was now standing beside their table. "Isn't she quite a sight?"

"I huh... it's not really my place to tell... I..." Danny mumbled uncomfortably, before Laura quickly swooped in to save her.  
"You don't have to answer that," she said with an eye roll. "Carmilla likes to make others squirm."

The brunette shrugged and let go of Laura's hand when Danny gave her a beaming grateful smile. The small girl smiled back at the tall waitress and they stared at each other like that until Carmilla cleared her throat loudly.

"Can we order now?" She asked petulantly and Danny nodded, a blush on her cheeks.

They ordered and as soon as they were done, Carmilla gave Danny a tight lipped smile.

"Well off you go, Bobby," the brunette said offhandedly, without even looking at the girl.

Laura stared at her, completely appalled and tried to kick her under the table when she continued to ignore the waitress.

"It's uh... It's Danny..." the redhead muttered shyly before walking away.  
"You are so rude!" Laura accused Carmilla the second Danny was out of earshot. "Why are you so mean to her?" She asked when the brunette didn't react.

Carmilla rolled her eyes.

"I don't like her," she stated with a shrug. "Now, care to tell me why you felt the need to hide your perpetual aggravation with me tonight?"

Laura sighed and brushed a hand through her hair.

"I... It's actually important to me..." she started slowly, still unsure how to approach this. "So... well, please hear me out, okay?" the small girl pleaded.

Carmilla raised an eyebrow in response and Laura started to explain.

"So I went by the excursion desk this morning because I wanted to see if they had anything that interested me and, well, it turns out that they do. It's in three days, it's called the Mayan cultural experience. Basically you get to meet Mayans and learn about their language and traditions and visit their homes and, all these cool stuff I actually craved to do when travelling. So obviously I asked the guy if I could reserve the excursion and I could, but the thing is... It's a popular tour and since this entire cruise has been planned and arranged for couples, they've decided to make the spots on this excursion doubles only so..."  
"So you need me to register with you in order to go," Carmilla completed with a nod.  
"Yeah... And, look, I know this is probably not your definition of holiday fun, but it would mean a lot to me if you-"  
"Okay," the brunette interrupted her.

Laura stopped dead in her tracks and her eyes widened. Was Carmilla saying what she thought she was saying?

"Okay?" the small girl inquired tentatively.

Carmilla rolled her eyes with a little smile and nodded.

"Okay," she repeated. "I'll register with you."  
"I... Just like that?" Laura asked, still having a hard time believing how easily Carmilla was agreeing to this.  
"Just like that," the other girl confirmed. "Did you expect me to be harder to convince?"  
"I... well... yeah," she admitted honestly.

Carmilla laughed bitterly and shook her head. She locked her gaze with the small girl's and Laura saw a hint of disappointment in her dark eyes.

"You have to stop expecting the worst from me, cupcake," she said delicately, a sad smile on her lips.

Laura bit her bottom lip guiltily at the other girl's words.

"If you need something from me, just ask," Carmilla continued. "If I'm not willing to give it to you, I will tell you so. You don't need to play children's games with me, I despise them and they do not work. You can be honest with me even if more often than not that leads to you yelling at me. I am quite capable of handling it. I'd rather that than lies." The girl finished.  
"I don't want to yell at you now," Laura blurted out .

Carmilla laughed sincerely and the small girl stared at her in surprise. It only lasted a brief moment though before the laughter stopped leaving the brunette smiling, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Good to know. But please, don't hold back. Half the fun of riling you up is that it works so well," she teased smugly.

Laura made a show of rolling her eyes, but she couldn't hide the big grin that was plastered on her lips.

***

The rest of dinner went especially well and if Laura was surprised, she couldn't say she minded. They didn't talk that much- they still weren't really friends after all- but she was just so glad that Carmilla had agreed to go on the excursion with her that the small girl was in an exceptionally good mood.

When they finished eating, they walked back to their room in silence. They made it to their floor's hallway and Carmilla walked beside Laura until they reached their door. There, the brunette leaned against the wall and looked at the small girl with a smile.

"Goodnight cupcake," she said. "I'm going to head back down. I'm not feeling very tired."  
"Oh?" Laura replied. "Okay... well, I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."  
"Indeed."  
"I'll have to fill you in on the details about the excursion, just like, the time and stuff."  
"Sure," Carmilla agreed with a smirk.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, Laura fidgeting slightly. She looked around herself nervously before stepping forward, placing a hand on Carmilla's shoulder and lifting herself to kiss her on the cheek softly. When she stepped back, Laura could tell that her own cheeks were red.

"What was that for?" Carmilla asked her with an amused look. "This hallway is empty. You don't have to play the girlfriend role..."  
"No..." Laura shook her head. "That wasn't for that. I meant this one. I just... I'm really grateful about the excursion. It really does mean a lot to me. So... you know, thank you..." she explained.

The brunette's smile faded a little and she looked at Laura curiously before nodding.

"You're welcome," she finally answered with a very tiny smile.

The small girl grinned back nonetheless.

"Enjoy your night, Carm," she said before grabbing her room key and unlocking the door.  
"Thanks," the brunette muttered looking a bit hesitant.

Laura nodded and moved to slip inside the room.

"Hum... Cupcake?" Carmilla stopped her just before she disappeared inside.  
"Yeah?" the small girl asked.

The brunette seemed to hesitate again slightly before continuing, her hesitancy shifting to confidence in an instant.

"I may disapprove of traditions that require of me to dress up like some doll, but... this formal wear on you..." Carmilla whispered, stopping as her eyes roamed Laura's body slowly.

She paused for what felt like hours to Laura. She could feel her heart rate accelerate, her entire body getting nervous from the other girl's scrutinising. Eventually, Carmilla's eyes travelled back up and locked with hers. They looked serious, Laura noted.

"You look... entirely breathtaking..." Carmilla muttered her voice ridiculously soft and husky.

Laura blinked a few times, feeling heavy all of a sudden. Her stomach fluttered and her cheeks coloured and before she had time to reply anything, Carmilla had smiled at her and turned around and walked away.

Laura looked at her retreating back until she managed to snap herself out of it and quickly entered her room. She felt a little out of breath and she didn't know why, but thought that perhaps it was because she hadn't detected a hint of teasing in Carmilla's compliment. Laura frowned and shook her head.

It was only a while later when she was changed into her pyjamas and tucked in bed that Laura remembered one thing... the dance lessons. Her eyes shot wide open.

"Oh crap..." she muttered to herself as she realised that she'd completely forgotten to cancel them.

It had completely slipped her mind during the day and Laura was certain that Carmilla hadn't bothered to do it either.

That could only mean one thing. Laura would have to dance with the other girl. She gulped and hid her face in her pillow when she realised that she no longer knew, in that moment, if she minded as much as she had the day before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment or a kudo if you've enjoyed :-) I do like the support! Thank you guys s much for reading!  
> Beginning next week (hopefully) this story shall be updated on Mondays between 5 and 6 pm, Eastern time.


	7. Chapter 6: The first step is the hardest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 3 on board.  
> Laura's makes a few encounters. Also, dancing.

**Chapter 6: The first step is the hardest  
**

 

Just like the day before, Laura woke up on Tuesday morning with Carmilla by her side. For a few seconds, the small girl frowned, until she remembered where she was. Even if it was her second day waking up on the ship, there was something about waking up beside Carmilla that was completely destabilising.

 

Laura wasn't sure if it was the fact that Carmilla had been, before this trip, a person she couldn't stand for more than a few hours at a time (and even then) or if it was because the girl truly looked so different when she slept. This morning again, she was sprawled on her side of the bed, her arms loosely gripping a pillow, her mouth slightly open and her hair splayed all over, locks hiding parts of her face. She was snoring a little and Laura couldn't help the amused grin that formed on her lips. This image of Carmilla was completely ruining the girl's usual badass one. She looked almost delicate. Not that she'd have ever told Carmilla that. The girl would have been entirely too insulted.

 

Laura continued to stare and was taken with an urge to brush aside the locks that were hiding the brunette's face. She breathed in shakily, her eyes blinking in confusion at the impulse. She shook her head and gulped slowly before getting out of bed. Then, she grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. A few minutes later, she was ready to head to breakfast.

 

When Laura walked back into the room, she couldn't help, but send a glance towards Carmilla. The brunette had moved a bit. Her hair was still covering most of her features, but she'd shifted onto the bed, lying diagonally and taking up all the space. Laura would have been upset had she not been about to leave the room anyway. She continued to walk to the door and it was only when she'd stepped out that she realised that Carmilla had let go of the pillow she had been previously holding in favour of grabbing the one Laura had slept on all night. A small blush covered her cheeks as she walked to breakfast.

 

***

 

The first thing Laura noticed when she made it to the dinner hall was that Danny was nowhere to be seen. When the small girl had grabbed breakfast, sat at her table and been offered coffee by some brunette waitress she'd never seen before, she had concluded that Danny was probably off today. Laura tried to ignore the disappointment rising in the pit of her stomach. After all, the redhead was entitled to have days off work. It was totally selfish of Laura to be disappointed because she was not-so-secretly looking forward to see her. She ate breakfast quickly and left after that to start walking around the ship.

 

Today was a day spent at sea. They'd be arriving in the Cayman Islands tomorrow before heading to Costa Maya Mexico the day after that. Although Laura naturally preferred the days off ship for the mere value of discovering a new place, she had to admit that she needed these on board days too so that she could explore the ship itself. As much as she didn't want to turn her journalism project into a typical boat review, she still needed to include the on-ship features. Besides, her dance lessons with Carmilla were only scheduled for this evening and Laura had to keep herself busy in the meantime somehow.

 

After heading back to the excursion booth to confirm her inscription to the Mayan cultural experience to Jeremy and signing up for a few more things along the way, Laura decided it was time to do some more in depth on board exploring.

 

In all honesty, there was an infinity of things to do on the ship. It was huge with many decks and truly enough features to satisfy just about every type of person. On her initial tour on boarding day, Laura had seen a gigantic library, a few pools, a spa and massage centre and even a running track, but knowing that these activities were offered on board wasn't enough for Laura's journalistic purposes. She needed more. She wanted to get a feel of some of the activities. She wanted to see how enjoyable they could be or how awkward.

 

It was because of that that Laura spent most of her morning participating in a trivia contest. The small girl had always liked these kind of games and, even if she wasn't really good at it, it didn't stop her from trying. Besides, the trivia was perfect because she could take notes on the activity and write her answers simultaneously and look completely inconspicuous doing it. She didn't exactly need to hide the fact that she was writing an article about the cruise, but Laura still liked to pretend.

 

When the quiz reached its conclusion, it was still pretty early. Laura didn't feel like forcing herself to find another activity though. She still had yet to take advantage of the amazing pools on board and the sun was already high in the sky, warming up her skin. It didn't take much more than that to convince the small girl that lazing around the pool all morning was definitely something she needed to do in order to write a proper article.

 

Smiling to herself, Laura made her way to one of the topmost deck, mentally congratulating herself that she'd decided to wear her bathing suit underneath her clothes this morning. It only took a few minutes before Laura was making her way out of the elevator her smile still firmly in place. She walked through the main area of the deck, her eyes trained on the glass doors in the distance where she could see the pool beyond. She couldn't wait to lie down in a chair and let the sun tingle her skin. It would be nice to just relax and think about nothing.

 

Laura was almost halfway through the room when something in her peripheral vision caught her eye. She turned her head curiously and her smile faded instantly, her skin turning ghastly white.

 

"Oh my _god_!" Laura hushed in horror, her eyes widening as she looked around herself frantically.

 

The next second, the small girl had almost dived behind a huge white plaster column. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest and Laura could just not believe it. Carefully, she inched her head around the column. She had to make sure, make sure she had seen what she _thought_ she'd seen. Laura scanned the room slowly until she reached the bar on the other side and her eyes fell inevitably on what or rather who she'd seen.

 

"Oh no no no..." she whimpered desperately.

 

She had not been mistaken and right there, in the same room, on the same damn cruise was none other than Mandy, the girl she'd dated the most briefly, but also the girl Carmilla had made fun of her for the most.

 

What had she ever done to deserve so much bad luck in such a short period of time, Laura wondered. She continued to stare a bit, shaking her head in disbelief, still hoping somehow that she was wrong. There was no mistaken though, this really was Mandy. Laura could recognize all about her from her tallness to her tan skin and black long hair. She was wearing white shorts and a dark t-shirt and it suited her, Laura thought. Okay so _maybe_ Carmilla was right and Mandy wasn't the most attractive girl Laura had ever dated, but it wasn't like she was a troll and besides Laura wasn't that shallow that all that mattered to her was looks.

 

The small girl realised how long she'd been staring when Mandy turned around suddenly. Laura quickly hid back behind the column, panic rising in her chest along with bile, hoping more than anything that Mandy hadn't seen her.

 

Laura wasn't sure how long she stood there, her face hidden behind the column, trying to make herself as small as possible when a voice said her name.

 

"Laura?" it said confusedly and the small girl turned around, her cheeks bright red.

 

Immediately, her eyes fell onto a tall form, but instead of the black haired woman Laura had feared it would be, it was a redhead, a very familiar redhead.

 

"Danny!" she squeaked, her cheeks heating up even more at being caught hiding by none other than Danny Lawrence. "Hi!"

"Hi..." the waitress replied with a small grin. "I hope I didn't interrupt something..."

 

Laura laughed nervously and shook her head.

 

"No! of- of course not!" she began a bit loudly before dramatically lowering her voice when she realised it.

 

She looked around herself nervously again, chancing a careful look beyond the column to see, relief flooding through her, that Mandy was still on the other side of the room blissfully unaware of her presence.

 

"You know you're being a bit weird right now, right?" Danny chuckled when Laura turned back around.

"Right..." Laura admitted with a blush, before bringing a hand to hide her face. "Gosh, I'm sorry!"

"Don't apologise," the redhead said, her eyes sparkling fondly. "So... what exactly were you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Oh uh..." Laura began stupidly.

"You don't have to tell me if it's personal..." Danny said quickly, seemingly realising she was being a bit inappropriate for a waitress.

"No that's not-!" Laura reassured her quickly. "I was just... Oh, please don't laugh... I was hiding... from an ex girlfriend," she finished in embarrassment.

 

Danny's smile widened at the information and she chuckled.

 

"Yikes," she replied, her face scrunching up in sympathy. "Which one?" she then asked, looking beyond the column.

"Tall girl, dark hair with the white shorts... by the bar..." Laura provided, still wanting nothing more than to disappear.

 

Danny looked away for a few seconds, her head bobbing up and down comically, before trailing her eyes back on Laura.

 

"She seems uh..." Danny tried to say, but started laughing when nothing came to her.

"She was perfectly nice, I'll have you know!" Laura defended as she began laughing along.

"I'm sure..." Danny teased, biting her bottom lip.

 

Laura rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling enough for Danny to know she wasn't angry.

 

"Okay, it's not like she's ugly," the small girl added when Danny continued to look way too amused.

 

The girl burst out laughing before tilting her head from side to side and scrunching up her face, clearly disagreeing.

 

"Oh come on!" Laura whined, unable to be truly mad.

"No, but like... I mean... She's tall! It's at least that. That's a good quality," Danny said with a shrug. "It's a sign of good health!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Laura asked with a smirk and a raised eyebrow.

 

Danny laughed again and shook her head. Laura realised with a flutter of her heart that she really liked to make the redhead laugh.

 

"Shit I didn't mean it like that! You look in great shape- uh I mean health!" the waitress said, her cheeks turning bright red.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling too much. She really wanted to address the girl's slip up, but she decided to spare her.

 

"Anyway..." Laura said softly. "You're right. She _is_ tall. I guess I've always liked tall girls," she mused only realising afterwards how that sounded like.

 

It was Danny's turn to look a bit smug.

 

"Yeah?" the redhead asked and Laura's cheeks felt ridiculously hot

"Yeah..." the small girl replied nonetheless.

 

Danny looked pleased until something seemed to occur to her and she frowned.

 

"Except for... well... your current girlfriend," she said quietly.

"Oh... yeah..." Laura said with a small nod and a crestfallen expression.

 

She'd totally forgotten about her fake relationship status for a moment. Danny sort of had that effect on her, the kind of effect that made her forget about everything else. Again, Laura grumbled mentally at the fact that she just had to meet a perfectly sweet and gorgeous woman when she was pretending to be taken.

 

"So..." Laura said after a small awkward silence. "I didn't see you at breakfast this morning."

"Oh yeah! I have the day off," Danny confirmed Laura's earlier guess.

"Do you have a lot of days off?" Laura asked genuinely interested.

"Usually one. We get two if the ship boards back home to take new travellers."

"That seems like a lot of work!"

"Yeah well, we're all pretty much on contract. We work for maybe 7 months and then we're off for the other 4," Danny explained.

"That's fascinating," Laura gushed, the redhead smiling fondly at her.

"Not really," she chuckled. "It's just a job. Where we live on a boat," she finished with a shrug.

"Still! You get to visit all these places! Have you always been on this kind of cruise? I mean in the Caribbean or did you work on other cruises before?"

"I worked on the Arctic tours for a while-" Danny began, but was soon cut off by Laura gasping and grabbing her arm.

"No way!" the small girl said with huge sparkling eyes. "Okay, you need to tell me everything about that!"

 

Danny laughed sweetly and Laura swore this morning couldn't get better.

 

"Are you sure? I mean I wouldn't want to be a bother..."

"You'd never be!" Laura said confidently. "You're totally amazing! Uh... amazing as just, like, a really brave person who follows her dreams and all that," she finished a lot less confidently.

 

Danny laughed as Laura blushed, but nodded nonetheless.

 

"Alright, I'll tell you everything," she agreed and Laura beamed.

"Thank you!" the small girl said genuinely. "Oh, but can you just keep an eye out for Mandy? That's my ex... I really would rather not talk to her!"

 

Danny grinned and nodded.

 

"Sure. Don't worry, I'll cover you," she said with a wink and Laura melted.

 

This girl was going to be the death of her and she didn't mind it one bit. Perhaps her luck was looking up if running into Mandy could turn into a real conversation with Danny Lawrence. Pool and sun be damned. Laura was great where she was, hidden between a plaster column and one very attractive redhead.

 

***

 

A good distance away, Carmilla had woken up slowly from the depths of her dreams. Her mind groggy and completely unaware of her body yet, the first thing Carmilla was conscious of was the strange aroma surrounding her. It smelled of fruits and flowers, it smelled of freshness and summer. It wasn't a scent Carmilla was used to- it certainly wasn't her own- but it wasn't a completely foreign scent either. Sleep started to leave her and the brunette became more aware of her body. She breathed in deeply, the smell enveloping her more completely, awakening her senses. It was nice, she decided, blinking her eyes open slowly.

 

She groaned and stretched a little, turning her face into the pillow in front of her. As soon as she did, Carmilla was overwhelmed with the same perfume she'd woken up to. Her eyes opened with a little frown and she blinked in surprise as she realised exactly why the aroma had been familiar. It was Laura's perfume.

 

Carmilla turned her face to the pillow again and inhaled. She closed her eyes and this time there was no more confusion, this was definitely Laura. The brunette groaned again as she moved to sit up. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and looked around herself. Just like the day before, she'd woken up to an empty bedroom.

 

Looking down at herself, Carmilla realised that she'd been taking up the entirety of the bed. She wondered for a second if that was why Laura had gotten up and left, but she quickly dismissed the thought. The tiny girl was probably just an early riser. Besides, if she had woken up with what had to be Laura's pillow, it was more logical to think that the small girl had left before Carmilla had invaded her side of the bed. Not that the brunette really cared anyway. So what if she'd taken more space than her half? Laura was welcome to leave if it didn't please her.

 

With that thought, Carmilla rubbed her face with a final groan and got up. In one swift movement, she took off her t-shirt and tossed it on the floor near her duffel bag. She kicked her boxer shorts next and walked towards the bathroom, not caring one bit that she was half naked and that Laura could potentially come back at any moment. As much as the small girl had complained about seeing her in various states of undress, Carmilla had still yet to care. It wasn't her fault nor her problem that Laura Hollis was as prude as she was uptight. Besides, she thought with a small smirk, she knew the petite didn't actually _dislike_ what she was seeing. She was just too proper to really enjoy it. Her loss in any case.

 

Carmilla took her time getting ready, spending probably much more time half naked than required. It didn't change anything in the end though because she remained alone in the room until she was ready to leave half an hour later.

 

When she made it to the dinner hall, Laura was nowhere to be seen. Carmilla frowned and rolled her eyes. For someone who had been so adamant that they keep up appearances about their fake relationship, the small girl wasn't making that much of an effort to hang out with her. Not that she cared or anything. She didn't really want to spend more time with Laura after all, but still, why complain so damn much if you weren't going to follow your own advice? Yet another thing Carmilla found beyond annoying about the other girl, she thought grumpily.

 

Despite the fact that thinking of Laura had put her in a bad mood, Carmilla soon found herself cheered when, a few seconds after she'd sat down at her table, she was greeted by a brown haired waitress instead of their usual insufferable ginger giant. Maybe her morning wouldn't be completely horrible. She didn't know what it was exactly that bothered her so much about Laura's precious Danny, but she just couldn't stand her. So a morning without her was by default a good morning.

 

A while later, Carmilla was done with breakfast and since she had nothing better to do she started wandering around the ship. A few travellers sent her smiles as they walked past her, smiles the brunette completely ignored to the appalled looks of certain. Why did people think that because they were on the same boat they were now all best buddies. Such idiotic, insipid reasoning. Carmilla continued to walk, her face half hidden behind her fringe when the smell of peaches and jasmine hit her nose. It was different but the fruity smell brought her immediately back to this morning, to thoughts of Laura.

 

Carmilla sighed to herself. This was happening more and more these days. Her mind would start wandering on its own and land on the tiny ball of rage. This time, as it did, the brunette was reminded of how Laura had looked the night before. Carmilla's lips twitched as her brain was flooded with vision of slender shoulders and smooth neckline. If there was one thing she couldn't deny about Laura it was that despite being infuriating, she was quite gorgeous. The brunette wasn't sure what it was exactly that made her so enticing, but it was hard to deny. She'd never have admitted it out loud- Lafontaine would never ever let her hear the end of it if she ever did- but Laura was doted of a natural beauty, the kind of beauty that was effortless and breathtaking in its innocence and simplicity. Of course though, her beauty was completely ruined by her frustrating personality, Carmilla mused.

 

"She's not _always_ annoying," a small part of the brunette's brain defended and Carmilla frowned at herself. She'd known Laura for so long and she'd never thought of her as anything more than irritating and over-excited. Now though, Carmilla could still see the girl's gentle eyes after her panic attack and it was hard not to concede that perhaps there was a little more to Laura Hollis then she'd always thought. Just a little more though. Carmilla wasn't ready to concede that perhaps her conceptions had been wrong all along. Besides, she really didn't want to dwell on the matter. What good would come out of it anyway?

 

Carmilla wasn't sure how long she walked, but her feet soon led her to the main swimming pool. Maybe a few laps would help her clear her mind. She hadn't even made it more than a few feet from the staircase when she spotted exactly the person she had wished to stop thinking about. Laura Hollis herself leaning against a white plaster column and apparently she wasn't alone. That giantess of waitress was there with her.

 

"Great," she thought sarcastically.

 

From her spot in the distance, Carmilla could see them laughing together, Laura's hand flying to push Danny gently. Her own jaw clenched and the brunette narrowed her eyes. Was Laura actually serious? Was that how she was keeping their cover? By flirting ridiculously obviously with their waitress? And how dare that stupidly gigantic error of a girl? How dare she flirt with a girl that was _taken._ How dare she flirt with _her_ girl, the brunette couldn't help thinking even if she knew that statement wasn't true at all. Her pride was still at stake here and Carmilla couldn't ignore it. Laura was making her look like an idiot and she was pissed off. In a split moment decision, she made her way towards the merry duo, her eyes darkening as she got closer.

 

"Well hello, _baby_ ," she said as she got within earshot. "Having fun?" she asked with her eyebrow raised.

 

Laura spun around the second she heard her voice, her cheeks colouring.

 

"Carmilla!" she exclaimed, her voice a bit squeaky. "You're up..."

"Yeah," the brunette nodded, making another step towards Laura, sliding her arm around the petite's waist and bringing her even closer before placing a lingering kiss on her cheek. "Sorry I slept so late, sweetheart," Carmilla continued, sending a glance towards Danny who wasn't smiling anymore. "You wore me out completely last night," she added, smirking when Laura's eyes widened. "You know how that is, huh Bobby?"

 

Danny's eyes darted to Carmilla's, an angry frown on her face. The brunette smirked victoriously. She didn't know why she liked to piss of the waitress so much, but she wasn't about to question it. She was far too occupied with enjoying it.

 

"It's _Danny_ ," Laura corrected her with a frown on her own face.

"Danny, Bobby..." Carmilla said in a bored tone, bringing her arm from Laura's waist to her shoulders and tugging her closer until Laura's own arm wrapped around her waist. "All sounds the same to me..."

 

If looks could have killed, Carmilla felt sure that Olympe would have killed her several times over. To be fair, Laura didn't look too impressed with her either.

 

"So, what did you want to do today, cutie?" Carmilla asked the small girl. "Because if you didn't have any plans, we could always go back to the room... I'm plenty rested and there are a few things I could think of doing in there..."she said suggestively, her voice dropping to sultrier tones, before she nipped playfully at Laura's earlobe.

 

Carmilla barely had a second to congratulate herself before the small girl pinched her side painfully. She swallowed the wince as best as she could and rolled her eyes when Laura's gaze clearly told her that she'd been looking for it.

 

As annoyed as the small girl looked right now, Carmilla couldn't say that she wasn't pleased with herself. Danny looked properly upset and that genuinely made her happy.

 

"Good," she thought to herself, her eyes narrowing and a smug smirk crossing her lips. "Serves her right for preying on Laura..."

 

The brunette was about to open her mouth to say something else when a laugh in the distance interrupted her train of thought. She frowned when she realised that it sounded familiar.

 

Carmilla loosened her grip around Laura's neck and stepped away from the column to look for the source of the noise. Beside her, the small girl's eyes widened.

 

"Carm, don't-!" she started, but too late.

 

The second she'd moved from behind the hiding place, her eyes landed on the source of the laugh. Then, they widened and an almost gleeful smile appeared on her lips.

 

"Holy shit!" she half said, half laughed. "Is that _Mandy_?" she asked, turning to Laura.

 

From the dark look on the small girl's face Carmilla could tell that she was very aware of her ex's presence.

 

"This is _priceless_ , why don't we go say hi?" the brunette suggested with an evil grin as Laura shook her head frantically.

"How about _not_!" she replied shrilly.

"Oh come on! It's been so long since we've seen dear old Mandy," Carmilla . "A hello wouldn't hurt... Mandy!" she added a bit more loudly.

"Carmilla, don't!" Laura hissed through gritted teeth.

 

The brunette sneered and wriggled her eyebrows at the other girl. This was too good to pass up.

 

"Just a quick one... Mandy!" she repeat even more loudly.

"Oh my god! Stuff it!" Laura hushed, tugging Carmilla out of sight, but not before the brunette had noticed Mandy looking towards their direction in confusion.

"Hum... Laura?" Danny said tentatively. "She's uh, sort of coming this way..."

"I'm going to kill you!" Laura snapped to Carmilla as the brunette laughed.

 

The next moment, she was grabbing her hand and tugging her along with her.

 

"I'm so sorry Danny! I'll see you later, okay?" Laura called out before dragging a highly amused Carmilla behind her.

 

The second her precious Danny was out of earshot, Laura glared at the brunette.

 

"What the frilly heck was that?!" she asked her angrily. "And what is _wrong_ with you?!"

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes.

 

"Relax cupcake, who cares if Mandy sees us?"

"I do! I don't want to talk to her! Besides, Mandy actually _knows_ how much I 'appreciate' you! If she sees us together, there's no way she'll believe we're a couple! We could get into serious trouble so stop being so callous and _come_!" Laura replied angrily.

 

Carmilla still let the small girl struggle as she walked them further and further away from Mandy who they could both see was looking for whoever had shouted her name.

 

"No!" Laura whined when the black haired girl started to walk in their direction, although she clearly hadn't seen them yet. "No no no!" Laura whined tugging again.

 

Carmilla continued to laugh, especially when they reached a corner and Mandy was still looking for them.

 

"Seems like you'll have to deal with the confrontation," she teased, but Laura only shook her head looking determined.

"Not if I can help it!" she said before flinging a door opened.

 

The room revealed to be a closet and before Carmilla had any time to realise what was happening, Laura was pushing her inside. Her pressure dropped dramatically and her laughter died in her throat.

 

"Cupcake wait!" she mumbled shakily, but Laura didn't seem to hear her and closed the door after walking into the closet herself.

 

The brunette's throat clenched suddenly and she felt light headed. She couldn't see anything in the dark closet and instinctively, she found her knees and supported her weight with her hands. Her breaths were coming in uneven bursts, her heart beating frantically, her entire body shaking. She couldn't think, couldn't even hear if Laura was talking or not. All she knew was that she could hardly breathe. The walls were closing in on her and someone was screaming and crying in her head. There was banging and more shouting and everything was spinning. Carmilla lost track of time, lost contact with reality for a bit. All she knew was that she was stuck and that she needed to get out. She wanted to scream, but her tongue felt too thick. She wanted to jump forward and get out, but she was paralyzed.

 

She had no idea how long it was when she heard someone say her name. The voice sounded far away and faint and it took a moment for Carmilla to understand exactly what it was saying.

 

"Carmilla?! Oh my god, Carm!"

 

She didn't react, didn't respond. She couldn't, wouldn't have known how. Her tongue was still too big and her eyes unfocused. Her heart was still beating hard and she was feeling faint.

 

Then, without another word, a hand grabbed hers and she was pulled out of the closet. The screaming in her head calmed down as her eyes started roaming around her, her heart relaxing at the sight of the space surrounding her. She wasn't stuck anymore and she took comfort in that thought.

 

After a few seconds, she became aware of the hand that was still in hers, fingers laced, a thumb tracing reassuring circles on her skin. She gulped slowly and closed her eyes, revelling in exactly how much that simple touch had a calming effect on her. When her panic had subsided enough for her to form coherent thoughts, Carmilla felt overwhelmed. She moved her head to the side to see that, of course, Laura was there looking at her with worry and concern, just far enough to give her space, but close enough to remain linked with her.

 

Carmilla didn't think she'd ever met someone who had ever figured out this naturally how to act around her when she was having an attack. Laura didn't try to reason with her, didn't try all these nonsensical formulas that so many had tried before her. She was just there and Carmilla didn't know what to do with that information so she took her hand away and averted her eyes in embarrassment.

 

When she glanced back, Laura's face had contorted as if she was in pain. Suddenly, it felt to the brunette like the small girl was pitying her, like she was suddenly seeing her as this fragile person that could be broken at any moment. Carmilla's features hardened and she clenched her jaw. She would _not_ have Laura look at her like that, she would not tolerate to be pitied.

 

"No need to look like you kicked a puppy," she spat.

"What?" Laura asked, genuinely confused.

"You're looking at me as if you've injured me," Carmilla accused. "I'm _fine_ ," she almost growled.

 

Laura's eyebrows scrunched and she shook her head.

 

"I don't... that's not..." she tried to say, but she was having a hard time speaking.

 

Her bottom lip quivered a little and her eyes filled with tears. Carmilla stared at her almost as if she'd grown another head. The brunette's features softened immediately as if she was completely unable to keep looking at Laura with coldness if the small girl looked like she was going to cry.

 

But Carmilla had evaluated the other girl too fast, because she blinked back her tears and gulped.

 

"I _know_ you're fine," Laura said firmly. "It's just... _I_ did this... I didn't even think and I just dragged you in there. And I _knew_ better! I didn't even _think_! I'm such an idiot!" she continued, her voice wavering and her eyes filling up again.

 

Carmilla frowned. So the pained look she'd seen on Laura wasn't pity, but... guilt? This was new. No one had ever blamed themselves for her own flaws. No one had ever attributed any fault to themselves for what Carmilla had always considered her own short comings. They'd blamed _her_ if anyone, hell, even Carmilla had always blamed herself. It was her problem after all, her fears, her weakness. Yet here Laura was, tiny little Laura in all her simplicity and kindness. Here she was blaming _herself_ for triggering Carmilla's panic attack. The brunette wasn't sure how to deal with this.

 

"I'm so _sorry_ Carmilla," Laura whimpered, her bottom lip still quivering, tears dangerously close to falling.

"It's okay, cupcake," The brunette heard herself reassure. "If anything, it was a good revenge against me being a jerk earlier..." she tried to joke to ease the tension.

 

Instead of laughing though, Laura looked even more alarmed.

 

"Don't say that!" she said, her voice shaking. "I'd _never_ do anything like that to hurt you on purpose! How can you think that?!"

  
Carmilla's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came. What could she even say to that?

 

"I was an idiot, but I didn't mean it! Please Carm you need to believe me! I'm so so sorry. It's all my fault and I can only apologize," Laura explained, sounding more and more panicked.

"Cupcake," Carmilla began, but Laura didn't seem to hear her.

"I'm so stupid! I didn't even think about you, I was just so afraid to face Mandy and I totally-"

"Cupcake!"

"Didn't think for _one_ second before dragging you. But I should have! It really is all my fault and I-"

"Cup-! Goddamn it..." Carmilla swore when Laura still continued to panic, her voice getting more and more shrill and a tear finally escaping her brown eyes. "Laura!" she said firmly, managing to silence the smaller girl.

 

Instinctively Carmilla's hands had reached forward and cupped Laura's face as she yelled her name. The small girl looked at her with wide eyes, her mouth slightly opened.

 

"Stop all this. It's not your fault," the brunette said quietly.

 

Laura blinked a few times and pouted.

 

"But I-" she started to argue, another tear falling on her cheek.

"Laura," Carmilla interrupted. "It isn't your fault okay?"

 

Laura blinked again and sniffled as a few more tears fell. Without thinking, Carmilla brushed them away with her thumbs, her eyebrows furrowing instinctively.

 

"Please don't cry..." she asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice. "I'm fine."

"I know you are... I just... I'm so sorry," Laura said and there was no doubt in Carmilla's mind that she meant it.

 

The brunette grinned crookedly, unable to stop herself. She brushed more tears away with her left thumb as her right hand pushed a lock of hair out of Laura's face.

 

"I know," she whispered. "But I still don't blame you..."

 

At that moment, Laura locked her eyes with hers and Carmilla stopped moving. Her left hand was still on the other girl's cheek, but her right hand had moved to her neck. For the first time, the brunette was realising just how close to each other they'd moved and she gulped slowly. What the hell was happening? If the frown on Laura's face was any indication, Carmilla was pretty sure the other girl was asking herself the same question. Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes were puffy from crying. Even so, the brunette couldn't help but notice how much brighter the shade of brown of Laura's irises had turned because of the tears. She was incredibly beautiful, Carmilla thought.

 

As if shocked, she dropped her hands from Laura and cleared her throat awkwardly. She wasn't sure where this sudden tenderness had came from and she was even less sure that she wanted to find out.

 

"Anyway..." Carmilla said looking around herself. "I think we actually managed to avoid Mandy," she mused.

"Oh," Laura said as if snapping herself out of a daze. "Yeah... I think you're right..."

"Good..."

"Yeah, good..."

 

They stayed in tense silence for a while longer before Carmilla decided to break it.

 

"So I'm going to go..." she said uncertainly. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Of course!" Laura said quickly with a nod.

"Good... So I'll see you for dinner, right?"

"Yeah, but don't forget we need to eat later today, I forgot to figure out a way to cancel the dance lessons so we have those first..."

"Or we just skip them," Carmilla suggested with a shrug.

"We can't just skip them!" Laura said looking slightly appalled.

"Why not? I thought you didn't want to dance with me. Have you changed your mind sweetheart?" The brunette asked with a smirk.

 

Laura laughed and shook her head and Carmilla couldn't help, but smile a bit more genuinely. The tension had eased somewhat and it felt good.

 

"I've not changed my mind," Laura said.

"Really? Because you _just_ pulled me in a dark closet and now you want to dance with me. Carry on like this and I'm going to get ideas, creampuff," Carmilla teased, laughing slightly when Laura blushed heavily.

"Stuff it!" the small girl grumbled with a pout.

 

Carmilla shook her head and started walking away.

 

"Say what you want, cupcake..." she said, turning around momentarily. "But 'stuff it' isn't exactly denying it..."

 

Laura's eyes widened, her blush intensified and she opened her mouth to answer, but Carmilla turned around again and continued to walk. She realised she'd been smiling to herself when she noticed how quickly her heart was beating and felt her smile fall. She frowned a little, but carried on regardless, willing herself to ignore the fluttering feeling at the pit of her stomach.

 

***

 

Laura had looked at Carmilla go, her mouth opened to argue and her face feeling stupidly hot. It was only when the brunette had been too far to even hear her that Laura had shouted a small 'I am! I am denying it!'. A few people had looked at her weirdly and she'd looked away in embarrassment, cursing Carmilla and her ability to make her look like an idiot.

 

She'd left afterwards to go to the pool like she'd planned, treading carefully in case she ran into Mandy. Some positive force must have been on her side though because she hadn't seen her ex anywhere. Compared to her morning, the rest of the day had went without a hitch. She'd managed to relax and take advantage of the wonderful weather and she hadn't randomly ran into Mandy again at all. Laura couldn't ask for more than that.

 

She'd still thought a bit about Carmilla and how she'd triggered the girl's panic attack though. Despite the brunette's reassurance that she didn't blame her, Laura had had a harder time forgiving herself. She'd been so selfish. She hadn't even realised right away that Carmilla wasn't doing well. How insensitive was that?

 

Laura reckoned she'd felt her own heart drop when she'd seen the brunette's alarmed eyes and heard her struggling breathing. How could she not feel guilty about that? She couldn't. She did. But if Carmilla was sincere when she said she didn't blame her- and Laura believed that she was- Laura had to let it go. It served absolutely no one to keep beating herself up for it. She would just have to be more careful in the future.

 

When the afternoon sun had started its descent, Laura had left the pool's side and headed for her room. She'd worked for a bit before it was time for her to change and head for the dance lessons.

 

To say that Laura was nervous about the lesson was an understatement. If Carmilla and she had had a few better moments together than their usual constant bickering, it couldn't be said that they were now friends. Laura wanted to be hopeful. She wanted to trust that things wouldn't be awkward, trust that they'd go along with the lesson and it would all be perfectly fine. Yet, as much as she wanted to, Laura simply couldn't be that confident. Not when Carmilla was involved.

 

She was getting to know Carmilla, that was true, but instead of feeling more comfortable around her, it felt to her like the girl was becoming even more of a mystery. Before, Laura had thought that she had the brunette completely figured out. Now though, she wasn't so certain anymore. There was something about her, something she'd never seen before that trip and that something was making the small girl question everything she'd always believed about Carmilla. Perhaps it was the tenderness she'd glimpsed earlier when the brunette had brushed away her tears or the sincerity that had flashed in her eyes the night before when they'd parted at their room's door. Of course, moments like these had a tendency to be fleeting, so much so that they made Laura wonder if she'd imagined them altogether.

 

One thing was sure though and it was that Laura could certainly not rely on these brief moments of truce to reassure herself. They were too rare and too few in between. It was a lot more likely that the brunette would be arrogant and irritating.

 

When she was changed into black yoga pants and a dark green tank top, Laura realised with a jolt of apprehension in her chest that she was ready to go. She willed herself to calm down and headed out. It didn't take long for the small girl to make her way to the room in which the class would be held and in no time at all, Laura was walking into a large room with lustrous gold wooden floors and mirrored walls. There were a fait amount of couples already there and Laura smiled shyly at the few people who turned to look at her. She walked further into the room, her eyes searching for the familiar dark hair of her roommate. Of course, a few seconds later, Laura was forced to come to the conclusion that the other girl simply hadn't arrived yet.

 

Even if there was still time before the beginning of the class, Laura couldn't help getting tense. She knew she'd discussed this with Carmilla earlier in the day, but what if the girl had forgotten? Worse, what if the girl had remembered, but had decided to skip the class anyway? Hadn't that been her suggestion in the first place? Laura bit her bottom lip and chewed on it anxiously as she waited. She'd kill the girl if she didn't show up.

 

As they grew closer to the beginning of the class, a few people began to look at the small girl curiously, surely wondering where her girlfriend was. Laura tried to ignore them, but her cheeks turned bright red regardless.

 

"Is everyone here?" a tall and slander man asked in a heavily accented English maybe 10 minutes after Laura had walked in.

 

The small girl bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from screaming and shook her head slightly.

 

"Has your partner not arrived Darling?" the man asked when he spotted her and Laura shook her head again, her cheeks even redder due to her mounting embarrassment.

 

The man, who had to be the teacher, frowned before looking at the rest of the class.

 

"Is anyone else missing?" he asked and when no one answered, he turned his attention back to Laura.

 

The small girl had rarely wanted to disappear more. If Carmilla didn't show up soon, she'd throw her off board for sure.

 

"Did you know if she was on her way?" the teacher inquired and Laura wanted to cry.

"No I-" she began, but cut herself off when the door of the classroom opened and a ridiculously nonchalant Carmilla walked in.

 

Laura wasn't sure in that moment if she wanted to thank the girl for finally showing up or strangle her for looking so careless and bored.

 

"Oh there she is," Laura squeaked as the brunette walked up to her, her hands in her pockets, looking as jaded as ever.

 

The teacher looked at her up and down, clearly unimpressed with her laid-back attitude. Or perhaps it was with her completely inappropriate outfit for the brunette had decided to wear very small black jeans shorts that looked way too tight to be comfortable for dancing along with a white v-neck t-shirt. Whether the teacher was looking at the girl for her attitude or clothes, Carmilla didn't look fazed in the slightest and only raised a slim eyebrow when he stared a bit too long for her liking. Laura closed her eyes and breathed in deeply beside her, apprehending the rest of the class if the teacher already had it in for them.

 

"Well now that everyone has so kindly graced us with their presence..." he said slowly, still frowning before turning to the rest of the class. "My name is Guillaume DeLongpré and I will be your teacher for this basic ballroom dancing class."

 

The teacher stopped talking for a few seconds, taking the time to look at the various couples and Laura didn't miss the half glare he sent Carmilla as he looked over at them.

 

"Ballroom dancing includes various styles," he continued to explain. "That being said, we do not have the time in the next 2 weeks to learn all of them. I thought we could therefore focus our energy on one specific type of dance..."

 

Laura gulped slowly as the teacher smiled and paused.

 

"Since this is a special cruise designed for couples, I thought it would be appropriate to learn how to waltz," he finally announced.

 

Laura closed her eyes and held back a groan as a few people whooped excitedly. When she opened them again, she turned her head to look at Carmilla. The other girl didn't make eye contact though and continued to look bored, her arms crossed on her chest now.

 

"I am glad you seem excited," the teacher said as the class fell silent. "For our session today we will first start by learning the correct positioning of both partners before getting into the basic box step pattern," he explained. "If you could form two lines, each partner facing each other?" he asked and they started moving.

 

Laura and Carmilla faced each other silently, eyes everywhere but on each other. When the lines were formed, Mr. DeLongpré smiled and continued his explanations.

 

"Good. Now, traditionally, the waltz is lead by the man. Obviously, such old fashion standards cannot apply here. Regardless, there must be a leading partner in waltzing. So to simplify things, I will ask the taller partner to assume the role of the leader."

 

This time, Laura and Carmilla's eyes met. The small girl couldn't help but roll hers when she caught the smug expression on the other girl's face.

 

"Don't look so pleased with yourself," she said moodily. "You're barely taller than I am."

"Still taller though," Carmilla teased before sending her a wink.

 

Laura frowned in response. She'd have continued arguing, but the teacher started speaking again.

 

"Alright, now that you've determined the leader, let's move into the basic waltzing position, the closed position. Leaders, extend your left hand please. Followers, take it with your right hand."

 

Carmilla did as she was told, her unshakable self-satisfied smirk still on her lips, and extended her hand to Laura. The small girl clenched her teeth and fidgeted a little before finally taking Carmilla's hand when the girl wriggled her fingers at her playfully. The brunette enveloped Laura's hand carefully and the small girl found herself breathing shakily when she noticed how soft it was.

 

"Good good," the teacher continued. "Now, leaders, place your right hand just below your partner's left shoulder blade. Followers, I'll ask you to place your left triceps to your partner's right forearm and let your hand rest on your partner's right shoulder."

 

Carmilla stepped a bit closer and Laura felt herself blush. Then, the brunette placed her hand carefully on her back and Laura placed her right on the girl's shoulder. They were still a bit far from each other though, as far as their arms could go actually. Laura had rarely felt so tense. She could feel that her back was ridiculously straight and she knew her arms were stiff because of how uncomfortable she was.

 

"You know you should relax, cupcake," Carmilla told her quietly. "Your arm will cramp up in no time if you don't."

"I'm completely relaxed," Laura defended hotly.

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and scoffed.

 

"I can feel your muscles working," she shot back, her fingers digging slightly into Laura's shoulder blade.

 

The small girl squirmed a little at the touch. She didn't want to agree with Carmilla, but her arm was already starting to get tired so, reluctantly, she relaxed against the other girl. The brunette smirked victoriously and Laura glared at her.

 

"Good," the teacher said. "Now, again, the proper closed position requires that the leader's left side of the hip connects with their partner's right," he explained.

 

Laura's eyes widened and her heart jolted nervously. Her fingers twitched against Carmilla's and she heard the other girl chuckle softly.

 

"But since this position might be a bit tricky for real beginners, I won't ask that of you. Instead, we'll adopt the 'poitrine à poitrine' or 'chest to chest' which will allow you to make your steps a bit more freely than if your hips were connected. Of course, if you find later on that you are getting more comfortable with the box steps, you are welcome to try the proper hip to hip position. Now everyone, poitrine à poitrine please!"

 

Laura looked at Carmilla wearily. Her heart was beating fast and although she was grateful that she didn't have to press her hips to the other girl's, the idea of standing closer than an arm's length wasn't something she was keen on either. After a few seconds of stillness, Carmilla rolled her eyes.

 

"Come on, creampuff," she said teasingly.

 

Her right hand moved from Laura's shoulder blade to lodge itself on the small of her back and the small girl felt herself being tugged forward. The next second, her chest had connected with Carmilla's and Laura's heart skipped a beat. On their own accord, her eyes lifted and met the brunette's. Their gazes locked and Laura shivered a little. Carmilla was looking at her in a bizarre way, her expression serious, her dark eyes stupidly mesmerizing. They didn't talk, didn't move. It felt to Laura like she was in trance. Her body was relaxed, her arm lying gently on Carmilla, their chests heaving and falling on the same beat. She wasn't sure what was happening, but before she had time to worry too much about it a voice interrupted her thoughts.

 

"Your right hand needs to be a bit higher," the teacher said, looking at Carmilla.

 

The brunette broke their eye contact and turned slowly to look at the man as if she was surprised he was even there at all. Then, she moved her hand which had remained on Laura's lower back and fitted it comfortably under her shoulder blade.

 

"Perfect," the teacher approved. "Great body posture," he said quickly before continuing to roam around the room.

"Do you think it physically hurt him to compliment me?" Carmilla asked the small girl when the teacher was out of earshot.

 

Laura burst out laughing at the joke and the brunette grinned back at her happily. A few seconds later, the teacher was speaking up to the group again.

 

"Very good everyone. The closed position is the basic of the waltz. Before we move to the box steps, I'd like you all to come apart and reposition a few times to make sure everyone is comfortable with the position. I will walk around and make the necessary adjustments."

 

The two girls did as they were asked quietly, Laura stepping close to Carmilla, but not exactly touching her like she had before. She wasn't sure why, but being pressed up against Carmilla had made her feel weird and even if it hadn't been in an entirely bad way, Laura didn't want to have to think about the way it had made her stomach stir. Besides, if Carmilla minded this change, she didn't say anything.

 

It wasn't too long anyway before the teacher interrupted them again to move the lesson forward.

 

"So the box step is fairly simple, but can also be a bit tricky at first. It is essential to master though if you want to move on with the waltz. If the partners would like to join please? I will dictate the steps and we can all follow together."

 

Laura moved closer to Carmilla again, avoiding her eyes until the teacher spoke again.

 

"Good. So leaders, please move your left foot forward, stepping down with your heel, followers, move your right foot back. Good, now, leaders, move your right foot to the side, stepping down with your toes and then close. Followers, left foot to the side and close. These are the first 3 steps. Now for the next 3, leaders move your right foot back, followers that means your left foot forward. Then leaders, left foot to the side and close. Followers, right foot to the side and close. Good, good, those are the 6 steps. Now, again. Everyone together, left foot forward, right foot to the side and close. Right foot backwards, left foot to the side and close. Good! Alright, I'll count the steps and try to move in time, okay?" the teacher instructed.

 

He started to count and Laura tried to move like he'd instructed. She soon found though that it was a bit harder than it looked. If Carmilla seemed to move fluidly and gracefully, Laura wasn't having such an easy time. She kept forgetting where to move next and kept glancing down at her feet, half fearing that she'd step on the other girl's.

 

"Leaders should try to create a frame for their partner," the teacher spoke loudly. "A frame to guide them into the steps."

 

Laura frowned and tried to feel this 'frame' that Carmilla was supposed to create for her, but she couldn't see it. Her movements were far from graceful. They were jagged and mechanical and Laura couldn't help feeling like an idiot. After a few more minutes of practice, she heard Carmilla sigh heavily.

 

"You realize you're thinking too much about this?" she said haughtily.

 

Laura's eyes narrowed and her cheeks flared.

 

"What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"You're the _follower_ , all you have to do is _follow_ ," the brunette explained as if talking to a child. "You're trying to lead alongside me and that's why it's not working."

"I'm not trying to _lead_ ," Laura countered. "I'm just trying to do my steps correctly."

"Same difference, cupcake," Carmilla replied. "Stop thinking, just follow."

"That's easy for you to say! How do I know where to 'follow' if I don't know where to step?" the small girl complained, getting slightly caught in her feet.

 

Carmilla sighed again.

 

"You're supposed to follow my body, feel where it's moving and move with it," she said.

"Well I can't feel it," Laura spat.

"If you didn't insist on standing so damn far from me you _would_ ," Carmilla spat right back.

"Good try, but I'm _not_ going to press up against you just because you say so!" Laura defended, her cheeks bright red.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes in exasperation.

 

"Don't flatter yourself cutie. I'm just telling you the facts. Waltzing properly requires a certain closeness between partners so that both bodies can move fluidly. But hey, keep treating me as though I have leprosy, by all means. You're the one looking like a bumbling imbecile,"

"God you're such a bi- bad person..." Laura insulted, her nostrils flared in anger.

"Bad person, huh? I thought you said I was a _beautiful_ person yesterday," Carmilla replied smoothly.

 

Laura narrowed her eyes even further, her muscles tensing.

 

"You're insufferable!" Laura told the brunette angrily.

"So I've heard," the girl replied looking bored.

"Everyone, when you move your right foot forward, your step should go inside your partner's legs, that is to say in between them. That way you will not step on each other," the teachers said loudly as Laura and Carmilla glared at each other.

 

They continued to move and Laura shot her head down to look at her feet, her eyebrows scrunching as she tried to figure if she was moving correctly.

 

"Stop over thinking this," Carmilla whined. "Dear _God_ , do you always over think everything?"

"I'm just trying to do this correctly!" Laura hissed.

"Well, you're not," the brunette told her coldly. "Your movements are spasmodic and, like I've already told you, you're standing too far."

"When did you become the master waltz... waltz-er anyway?!" The small girl shot back, clearly annoyed.

 

Carmilla opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the appearance of the teacher.

 

"You'll need to stand closer to your partner. It will help you move more fluidly," he told Laura. "Wonderful position and posture again," he added to Carmilla with a nod before walking off.

 

The brunette was smirking triumphantly and Laura had rarely wanted to smack her more.

 

"You're still too far," Carmilla said after a few seconds, chuckling at the incendiary look the petite threw her in response.

"If you don't shut your mouth I _will_ throttle you," Laura warned.

"Maybe then you'd actually stand close enough," the brunette scoffed, making the other girl see red.

"You are the most-!" she started, but stopped abruptly when she caught her feet somehow and felt herself falling backwards.

 

She let a small yelp escape her lips as her hands tried to clutch at Carmilla's shirt reflexively. Just as she was convinced she was going to fall on her ass, Laura felt the brunette's arms tighten around her strongly and stop her fall.

 

"Shit, Laura!" she heard Carmilla hiss before a ripping sound echoed in the room.

 

Laura's eyes widened and her mouth opened when she spotted Carmilla's horrified expression and felt herself be lifted up. Then, the brunette's arms let go of her and the girl moved a hand behind herself.

 

"Goddamn it!" the girl seethed, her dark eyes flashing with anger.

 

Laura's mouth fell open even more and when Carmilla turned a little and she saw a giant tear in the backside of her shorts.

 

"Oh my god!" she whispered in disbelief, making the brunette turn to glare at her.

"Cupcake, don't!" Carmilla warned, but it was pointless because the next second, Laura had burst out laughing.

 

Carmilla's eyes shot daggers at her, but the small girl wasn't deterred. There was something infinitely satisfying about seeing the other girl in such a silly position. She hadn't laughed this much in a long time.

 

"Laugh it up, cutie, it's not like I ruined my shorts or anything" the brunette grumbled.

 

Laura didn't stop laughing at all and only tried to control herself when the teacher made his way over.

 

"Is there a problem?" he asked politely, making Laura snort.

"Yeah, I caught this one over there before she fell on her ass and ripped my shorts," Carmilla said gruffly, throwing Laura an annoyed look. "End of the lesson for me."

"Oh nonsense!" Mr. DeLongpré waved her off. "I have some shorts from the lost and found I could lend you. Come with me. Everyone else, keep practicing," he instructed, walking off.

 

Carmilla followed reluctantly a hand hiding her ass as Laura walked behind still trying to stifle her giggles. They walked to a small room that turned out to be an office. Carmilla followed the teacher inside and Laura waited outside.

 

"You've got to be kidding me!" she heard the brunette protest.

 

Laura tried to look inside but soon the teacher was walking out and blocked her view.

 

"It's these or you walk around with your bottom showing. Your choice," he told Carmilla before going back to attend the rest of the class.

 

Laura heard Carmilla's exasperated groan, but then she began to move around so the small girl assumed she'd decided to change out of her broken shorts regardless. Laura could still hear her grumbling though ad she would have been lying if she'd said she wasn't dying to see what was making the brunette complain so much.

 

"I'm warning you creampuff," Carmilla's voice announced a few seconds later. "You better not laugh..."

"Oh come on..." Laura said with an eye roll.

"I mean it!"

"Just come out, will you?! It's not like you're going to spend the rest of the trip inside this office, anyway."

 

Laura heard the other girl sigh heavily and then the door opened slowly. She waited in anticipation and was not left disappointed. Despite what Carmilla had said, Laura burst out into an uncontrollable fit of giggles the second her eyes landed on the grumpy brunette.

 

"You 're a child..." she grumbled, her arms crossed over her chest.

 

The small girl wasn't even bothered by the insult and continued laughing, clutching her stomach. The other girl was quite the sight after all. Their teacher had said they were lost and found shorts and now that she was seeing them, Laura wasn't convinced if the person hadn't simply left them on purpose. And on Carmilla, the vision was just too good.

 

Bright blue with pink and yellow flowers, giving them a slightly Hawaiian feel, the pair of shorts were not only hideous, they were also too big on Carmilla's hips and they clashed ridiculously with everything Laura knew of the other girl. And if the shorts alone hadn't been enough to amuse the small girl, surely the deep frown on the other girl's face would have done it. She looked like a petulant child, especially in the large shorts.

 

"I wish I had my camera," Laura said happily.

"I will throw you off board," Carmilla warned, to which the small girl snorted.

"No you won't! Grumpy pants! Or should I say, grumpy _shorts_!" she replied giddily, laughing at her own joke.

"God, you're lame," Carmilla complained with an eye roll.

 

Laura hadn't been in this much of a good mood all day and she simply couldn't stop smiling. Her eyes fell to the shorts and she started laughing again. Carmilla glared at her for a few more seconds, before the corner of her lips turned upwards. Then, she threw her broken shorts at Laura's face, only succeeding in making the girl laugh even harder.

 

"You know, most people would have at least thanked me for saving them a fall on their ass," the brunette said, a small grin on her lips. "Yet, here you are, laughing. Real classy Hollis."

 

Laura shook her head and rolled her eyes.

 

"I can't help it!" she said, through her giggles. "These shorts on you... I mean, I'm trying to imagine your usual brooding and I just can't help laughing!"

"Whatever," Carmilla rolled her eyes. "Next time, I'm letting you fall," she announced before walking back towards the rest of the class.

"Such a gentlewoman," Laura teased following her.

 

They didn't say anything else, but they were both smiling and chuckling a bit when they repositioned themselves into their waltzing stance and started practicing again. Laura wasn't sure if it was because the tension had dissipated somewhat or if it really was because she'd finally stepped closer to Carmilla, but this time around, the waltz seemed to go more smoothly. They were still far from perfect, or at least Laura was, but it was better than before.

 

When the class came to an end, Laura was surprised. She hadn't even seen the time fly. She guessed that dancing with the brunette really wasn't that awful if they laughed through it instead of bickering.

 

They walked out of the class together after that and Carmilla threw her shorts into the first trash can she saw. Then, they made their way to the dinner hall, Laura surprised that the brunette didn't insist on changing first.

 

"You've already laughed at me plenty, sweetheart. I cannot be shamed further," she explained when the small girl asked her about it.

 

Secretly, Laura was glad because even if the girl had been wearing the ridiculous shorts for a while now, she still found it infinitely hilarious. Carmilla didn't even seem to mind her amusement anymore which really did help set a generally cheerful mood.

 

They made it to the dinner hall and Carmilla huffed at everyone who looked at her sideways, throwing pieces of bread at Laura every time the petite's chuckles became too loud. Still, she didn't seem angry or annoyed, mostly playful and Laura had to admit that she was liking this side of Carmilla.

 

They spent dinner like this, chatting a bit, but mostly just eating and laughing from time to time. When they were done, they walked together to their room. The minute the door was closed, Carmilla took off the shorts with a relieved sigh. Laura tried not to look at the brunette's naked legs as the girl dug through her luggage taking out a pair of black jeans, but failed miserably. Carmilla put the jeans on, and when she turned around to face Laura again, the small girl snapped her eyes away quickly.

 

"Well, I'm going to head back out," she said tilting her head towards the door. "Goodnight, cupcake."

 

Laura frowned.

 

"Again?" she asked. "You go out every night."

"Yes, this is what some people call being on holiday. You go out, you have fun. You should try it sometime," the brunette teased.

 

Laura rolled her eyes.

 

"Mind telling me where you go all night, then?" she inquired and Carmilla smirked playfully.

"Well, I have to keep some of my secrets otherwise I'll lose my air of mystery, won't I?" she replied softly, her voice deep and sultry, as she walked passed Laura.

 

She headed towards the door and sent the small girl one last look before walking out. Laura stood transfixed for a few seconds, her heart beating wildly, before finally shaking her head.

 

She blinked a few times then grabbed her stuff to prepare herself for bed. It was as she was finishing to wash her teeth that Laura realised that this was the first time that Carmilla had sounded like she was genuinely flirting with her and not just doing it to get on her nerves.

 

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, the small girl noticed that her cheeks were red and she looked a bit dazed. She also couldn't help noticing that her heart was feeling funny, as if it was buzzing and fluttering at the same time.

 

After a few seconds of silent contemplation, Laura shook her head, because, surely, Carmilla hadn't _really_ been flirting. She couldn't have. That was just what Carmilla did. She flirted and charmed girls. Laura had seen her do it a thousand times to various girls at college parties or bars and she'd always found it stupid and irritating. So really, why was she looking so flustered right now?

 

Laura cleared her throat awkwardly and headed for bed, sleep would do her some good. Besides, she'd definitely observed her reflection enough for one night if the thought of getting flustered over Carmilla Karnstein had even crossed her mind. Yes, sleep would most definitely do her some good. And tomorrow... tomorrow everything would be back to normal. Laura needed it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading! You guys are awesome! Your comments are fuelling my writing like nothing else!  
> Ps: for the Skins fans out there, yes Mandy is THAT Mandy. ;-)  
> See you next week hopefully!  
> MM xx


	8. Chapter 7: You can't judge a book...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4. Or at least part of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit shorter than I first wanted it to be. I had to cut it because there was no way I was going to have time to write it all in time for posting today!! That being said, I'd rather make it a bit shorter and give you something then not post at all! I'm still swamped with school work, but I want to keep updating, even if I have to shorten my chapters a little in order to do so. Feels better than going on Hiatus to me!  
> Anyway, thanks for the support :-)  
> MM xx

### Chapter 7: You can't judge a book...

 

Carmilla had always found that there was something special about the night. Sure it was a bit cliché of her- she'd often been called dark and broody in her life- but that didn't make it any less true. To Carmilla, there had always been something about the way things looked under the moonlight, about the way it felt to be surrounded by millions of stars. There was something big about an evening sky, something infinite and limitless. There was also something comforting about being this small entity in the vastness of the universe. It kept everything in perspective, yet, it had always made Carmilla feel like she was a part of something.

 

Perhaps that was because of this love that the brunette had always had a tendency to be more of a night bird. She liked staying up to watch the stars even if it often meant that she got up too late to really take advantage of the sun. It was a trade Carmilla didn't mind doing and if someone had thought that perhaps life on a cruise ship would change her habits, they'd been mistaken.

 

Of course, the nights on board weren't as quiet as those she usually had at home, but they weren't altogether unpleasant either. The Caribbean air was cooler at night due to the sea wind that always picked up significantly. Sure, there were a lot of travellers everywhere still and the ambient sounds of the waves were covered by laughter and music, but it was nonetheless different from the day. Carmilla could appreciate that.

 

It was pretty late that evening when Carmilla finally made her way back to her room where she knew Laura would be sleeping already. Her back felt a bit taut, but she didn't care in the slightest. Tonight had been good and not even the pressure in her neck or the stiffness in her fingers could ruin the rush the brunette could feel coursing through her body. Yes, tonight had been really good. It had been a long time since Carmilla had felt this energised. She didn't know exactly why tonight of all nights had felt particularly fulfilling, but perhaps it was due to the fact that the first part of her evening hadn't gone as awfully as she'd first thought.

 

After 3 days into this trip, Carmilla had to admit it. Laura Hollis simply wasn't entirely as bad as she'd always thought. Sure, she was infuriating, entirely too tightly wound, but there were also moments- like the second part of their dance lesson and dinner- when they could laugh together and Carmilla actually enjoyed her company. Getting along with Laura was weird, of course- after 6 years of mutual dislike it was only normal- but that didn't stop the brunette from holding on to the feeling regardless.

 

The corridors were mostly empty as Carmilla walked to her floor. It was a good thing, because the brunette had no desire to wake her roommate. Sure, they'd spent a good evening together, but she knew Laura would be anything but nice it she woke her up. She'd managed get into their room without waking the girl on the first few nights, but Carmilla still was wary. If there was one thing she wouldn't put pass Laura, it was definitely that she'd be capable of yelling at her even in the late hours of the night.

 

Luck was on her side apparently, because when Carmilla arrived in front of her room, the corridor was still deserted. She swiped her card and slipped in silently. Just as she had expected Laura was sound asleep in bed, her soft breaths the only sound in the room. Carmilla started undressing carefully, being as quiet as she could when she moved on to brush her teeth. For all Laura's complaining, she was actually considerate sometimes.

 

A minute later, Carmilla was ready to get into bed. She walked back into the dark room, her feet almost gliding on the surface of the floor. She reached her side of the bed and pulled the blankets off. She slipped in slowly, trying not to move too much and even stopped completely when she heard Laura groan beside her.

 

She waited for a beat or two, but when the small girl continued to whine and started moving a bit more, Carmilla turned to look at her. Her eyes were still closed so the brunette knew she hadn't woken her, but instead of the calm features she'd had before, her eyebrows were now slightly furrowed. Her head moved and a small sound, almost like a sob, escaped her lips.

 

"Mo-... Don't..." Laura muttered in her sleep, getting increasingly agitated.

 

Carmilla continued to look at her awkwardly, unsure what to do. When the small girl's fingers started clenching in front of her though, she reacted instinctively and handed Laura the pillow she, herself, had been using every night. Laura seemed to calm down a bit after that, her fingers gripping the pillow's fabric and tugging it closer to her chest. The brunette nodded to herself, satisfied, and slipped further into bed. She had just closed her eyes when she heard the small girl speak again.

 

"...Miss you..." Laura huffed quietly.

 

Carmilla's eyes snapped open and she looked directly at the other girl's face. She was still asleep, the brunette was sure of it, but it was also clear that whatever her nightmare was, it was still plaguing her. Laura whined again and before Carmilla knew what she was doing, her hand shot forward and she brushed a lock of hair away from the other girl's face.

 

"Laura..." she whispered as softly as she could.

 

Laura didn't wake up at the sound of her voice, but her head moved into Carmilla's touch. The brunette gulped uncomfortably, but left her fingers there nonetheless. She moved them to brush Laura's hair again when the small girl moaned again.

 

"Laura," she repeated, just as softly. "Laura you're dreaming. You're okay. It's just a dream..."

 

She continued to brush her fingers in the girl's dark blonde hair as she spoke, her heart weirdly heavy. Carmilla didn't know if it was her words' doing or her caresses, but Laura seemed to calm down. A long sigh escaped her lips and she shuffled closer until her nose was buried into the pillow. She inhaled deeply and let out a content hum as Carmilla almost unconsciously continued to caress her hair.

 

A few seconds later, Laura's breaths had returned to being calm and even and she was no longer moving. Her features were completely relaxed and there was no doubt in Carmilla's mind that she'd gone back to a peaceful sleep. She took her hand away slowly, her eyes still fixed on the girl in front of her.

 

"She really is a beautiful girl," Carmilla caught herself thinking, her heart instantly clenching at the thought.

 

She gulped slowly again and moved so that her back would be to Laura. She felt silly, but that didn't stop her from doing it. Whatever it was that had made her caress the small girl to appease her nightmares and think these kind of thoughts, Carmilla had no desire to delve into it.

 

***

 

When Carmilla woke up the next morning, she knew instantly that it was way too early. Her head felt heavy and so did her eyelids. Her thoughts were fuzzy and when she finally blinked her eyes open slowly, she noticed that the room was still fairly dark. She groaned to herself, rubbing her face with a hand and pushing her dark locks aside.

 

Instinctively, her head turned to the side and she frowned slightly when she saw that Laura was already gone. Her frown only intensified when she turned to look at the small clock on her bedside table and saw that it was still way too early to be awake, even for the small girl.

 

Carmilla sat and looked around herself. It only took a moment for her to notice that their balcony door was slightly opened. Her curiosity was definitely peeked, so before she had time to change her mind, Carmilla pushed aside the blankets and got up. She grabbed a sweater as she passed her luggage and stepped outside carefully. She didn't have to look for long before her eyes fell on Laura's familiar form.

 

The small girl turned her head and met her eyes instantly, her lips curving into a welcoming smile. She was sitting on a small chair, her legs to her chest with a huge dark blue sweater pulled above them. The right side of her hair was tucked behind her ear and although she looked a bit tired, she also looked peaceful.

 

"Hey," she greeted politely. "Did I wake you?"

"No," Carmilla reassured as she sat on the second chair, her hands in the pocket of her shirt. "I simply woke up."

"Good," Laura nodded. "Although, I didn't think it was possible to see you up this early."

"Don't be foolish, creampuff. I've been awake at this hour several times. Granted, it's usually because I haven't gone to bed at all, but it still counts, right?" she joked, making Laura chuckle softly.

"Oh okay. Yeah, that makes sense."

 

They stayed quiet for a few minutes, looking at the sea. The sky was mostly clear, still dark blue, but getting paler as the minutes passed.

 

"So what are you doing out here?" Carmilla asked after a while. "Couldn't sleep?"

"No, I could... I mean... It was alright. I just wanted to see the sunrise actually," the girl explained awkwardly.

 

Carmilla nodded realising for the first time that it was indeed probably minutes before sunrise.

 

"That's... very poetic of you," she said with a slight smirk on her lips.

 

She turned her head just in time to see Laura roll her eyes at her.

 

"Sunrise too happy for you? Do they hurt your brooding image?" she teased, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing when Carmilla raised her eyebrows at her and replied.

"I think they might."

 

They stayed quiet again after that. Carmilla could see Laura twitching next to her but she didn't say anything. Whatever the small girl was struggling with, it was none of her business. Besides, she wasn't one for prying.

 

"It's... Sunrises remind me of my mum," the small girl said in a tiny voice after a while anyway.

 

Carmilla turned to look at her, but Laura was staring right in front of her, her jaw a bit tense.

 

"Whenever I want to feel close to her, I do something like this. Something that was always completely her to me..." she continued slowly.

 

The brunette nodded at her words, but she couldn't help frowning too.

 

"Why don't you just give her a call? Have some precious mother-daughter time when you come back from this trip?" she asked, unable to completely keep the bitterness out of her voice.

 

Laura turned to look at her then. Her eyes were scrunched together and she looked confused. When Carmilla continued to stare at her blankly, Laura's confusion turned to surprise and then sadness. She turned back to look at the sea before licking her lips slowly.

 

"My mother's dead, Carmilla," she eventually explained.

 

Of all the things the brunette could have expected, this wasn't it.

 

"Oh..." she said dumbly. "Shit Laura... I- I'm sorry," she apologised automatically.

 

It wasn't in her habit to regret her actions or words, but this time, Carmilla couldn't help it. She felt sick. Suddenly, in light of all this new information, the words Laura had spoken in her sleep the night before made a lot more sense. It only served to make the brunette feel even worse.

 

"I had no idea..." she continued lamely.

 

From the corner of her eye, she saw Laura shrug.

 

"It's okay, I-"

"No," Carmilla interrupted her sharply, making the small girl look at her in surprise. "I shouldn't have said that. It was inconsiderate. I really am sorry, Laura."

 

This time, a small smile crossed the small girl's lips and her shoulders seemed to relax. She stared at Carmilla curiously for a few seconds before finally speaking.

 

"Thanks..." she said sincerely.

 

Carmilla nodded silently and looked back at the sea. Laura didn't add anything else and not too long later the sun was finally coming up in the horizon. It shone its light, turning the sky into hues of pink and oranges. Both girl stayed silent as it rose higher and higher, the light catching between the few clouds before emerging beyond that.

 

Carmilla watched, her eyes widening in awe despite herself. Strictly speaking, she was not a fan of watching sunrises. There had always been something about the activity that felt too tacky, too _mundane_ for her to truly enjoy. Still, sitting here in the early hours of the morning with Laura, it didn't feel as boring and unexciting as she usually thought. Carmilla even had to admit, it was rather nice.

 

"This isn't half bad," she commented after a while.

 

She bit her cheeks to stop herself from smiling when Laura beamed beside her.

 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" the small girl answered, her voice passionate and warm.

 

So much so that Carmilla couldn't help turning around to look at her. Her heart caught in her throat when she saw the other girl, her chin rested on top of her knees, a simple smile splayed on her lips, her eyes shining. With the early sunlight behind her, her hair looked like a golden halo. She was quite a sight to behold and the brunette couldn't help staying silent, completely transfixed, before gulping slowly.

 

"Yeah..." she whispered. "It really is."

 

Laura smiled even more fully and, for a second, Carmilla forgot everything else. She shook herself out of it a second later though when the small girl turned around yet again.

 

"My mum always said a day started this beautifully could never go completely wrong. She loved watching sunrises so much. My dad always promised he'd build an extension to the house and turn it into a solarium for her, but, well... she died before he..." Laura drifted off.

 

She waited a beat or two before continuing.

 

"He did build it in the end, you know?" Laura said with a little smile.

"Yeah?" Carmilla replied, mirroring the other girl's smile.

"Yeah... It took him a while, but he did... And when he finished... We woke up extra early the next day and watched the sunrise together."

 

When the brunette didn't reply anything for a few seconds, Laura laughed awkwardly.

 

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you all this. I'm making this awkward. I didn't mean to ruin your morning," she said with a head shake, her cheeks red.

"You haven't," Carmilla told her with a slight frown. "I..." she hesitated, looking for her words. "I'm not really... good at this sort of talk, but... they're beautiful memories Laura."

 

They stayed silent for a few seconds, Laura's cheeks as red as ever before Carmilla spoke again.

 

"Although you _did_ make this a bit awkward. With your sharing it almost feels as though we're becoming friends," she teased gently with a smirk.

 

Laura let out a loud giggle before pushing the brunette's shoulder gently.

 

"Don't say such awful things," the small girl said with a shy smile.

 

Carmilla snorted and shook her head. She propped her feet up against the metal railing of the balcony, her eyes almost closing at the sound of the waves hitting the side of the ship and the birds waking up with the sun.

 

"What about you?" Laura asked her, interrupting her quietude.

 

Carmilla turned to see the small girl looking at her with curious eyes, her arms hugging her knees and her cheek resting atop them.

 

"What about me?" the brunette repeated.

"What about your parents," Laura specified.

 

The brunette inhaled deeply and felt herself stiffen.

 

"There's not much to tell..." she answered reluctantly.

"Yeah, of course, I'm sorry I asked... It's none of my business really..." Laura said quickly, shaking her head.

 

She looked disappointed though and Carmilla felt her stomach squeeze in discomfort. She closed her eyes for a second and sighed.

 

"I never knew my actual parents," she provided, making Laura's eyes snap back to her.

 

She turned to meet the small girl's eyes.

 

"I grew up in foster care," she explained, every bit of the tension she felt in her muscles tangible in her tone.

"Oh," Laura said, her mouth staying in the shape for a few seconds. "And were you ever..." she trailed off.

"Adopted?" Carmilla finished for her, before looking away. "Yeah," she nodded. "When I was 7. The husband died only 2 years later and the wife... She's still around. She's my mother for all intents and purposes. We're not that close though."

 

Carmilla saw Laura nod slowly in her peripheral vision, but she was refusing to look at her. Her fists had tightened inside her pocket during her explanations and her shoulders were ridiculously stiff.

 

Family was not something she liked to talk about. She wasn't even sure why she'd answered the small girl's question in the first place. Probably because Laura herself had shared something first and now she felt entitled. At least, that's what she wanted the reason to be.

 

Carmilla had been staring in front of her for a moment, several thoughts going through her head, when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned around and saw Laura looking at her carefully, a very small hopeful smile on her lips.

 

"Thank you for telling me," the small girl said.

Carmilla half shrugged in response.

 

"Sure, it's not a big deal or anything," she whispered, knowing full well that both Laura and she were well aware that it was a complete lie.

 

She didn't share, almost ever. Yet, on this ridiculously ordinary Wednesday morning, she'd done so. They were both aware of how peculiar that was.

 

Laura was smart enough not to push the subject though and took off her hand, sitting back into her own seat, her legs coming out of under her sweater to mimic Carmilla's position on the railing. It felt like hours before one of them spoke again.

 

"I can't believe I didn't know you were adopted..." Laura scoffed half to herself. "Not that it's important, it's just, after 6 years, you'd think either Perry or Lafontaine would have said something."

"Indeed. And I had no idea your mother was deceased," Carmilla agreed.

"Yeah... Serves to show, I think, how little we actually know each other, right?" she mused.

 

Carmilla hummed in reply, considering Laura's words. She had to admit the small girl had a point. Maybe they really didn't know much of each other. It was a long while again before any actual words was spoken.

 

"We're totally becoming friends..." Laura laughed, biting her bottom lip.

 

Carmilla shook her head, but didn't contradict the small girl either. Maybe they were.

 

***

 

Laura and Carmilla had sat together on the balcony for quite a while. By the time the brunette had gotten up with a groan and a yawn, declaring that she needed to go get some more sleep, the sun was much higher in the sky. She'd asked Laura if she wanted to go back to bed as well, but the girl had turned down the offer. She had no intention of going back to sleep. Not when there was breakfast to be eaten and not when they'd accost the Cayman Islands in just over an hour.

 

The small girl had relaxed on the balcony for a bit longer before finally going back into her room to change silently and head out. She smiled at the half hidden sleeping form of Carmilla on her way out the door and arrived at the dinner hall just a few minutes later.

 

Since Laura had every intention of spending the day on the island, she wasted no time eating her good share of food. She felt like a complete idiot when, well into her third plate, she spotted her favourite redheaded waitress in the distance. Danny waved at her happily and Laura hoped with all her might that the gorgeous girl hadn't noticed how much she'd eaten.

 

She didn't get to find out though because, half an hour later, Laura was done with breakfast and she headed out the door before she'd had time to really speak with Danny.

 

As much as the small girl would have loved to exchange a few words with the other woman, she also couldn't wait to step foot on the Cayman Islands. In the quick research she'd made before leaving, Laura had read several good things about the place. But the one thing she really wanted to try out was a submarine dive. She'd read all about it before leaving and had wasted no time in booking herself a spot through the cruise staff. She really couldn't wait to see marine life; the coral and fishes. It would be amazing, Laura was sure of it.

 

She made her way giddily towards the lower deck to board the smaller boat that would bring her on shore. She was skipping and singing to herself and it took her a few minutes before she realised how special that actually was considering she'd spent more than half of her night having nightmares. Of course, the fact that she was excited about the upcoming excursion was helping her mood, but Laura knew it was more than that.

 

In her teenage years, the small girl had had many instances of nightmarish sleep. She'd spend nights losing her mother all over again, just like it had been the case the night before. Every time that happened, Laura's response was the same. She'd try to do something to feel closer to her mother, something that would make her feel less alone and although it helped, it never fully worked either. Even if she knew that she had other people in her life, even if she _knew_ that she wasn't truly alone, the days after her nightmares had always been rather depressing ones for Laura.

 

Today though, she wasn't feeling as bad as usual. It made sense, in a way, since today had been slightly different then the other post-nightmarish ones. For one, the small girl knew she hadn't spent her _entire_ night dreaming about her mother. She didn't know why, but she could remember her dreams fading at one point, allowing her to catch some rest. That was quite particular because when the nightmares plagued her, they were usually relentless but for whatever reason they hadn't today, Laura wasn't about to complain.

 

This really did help her mood, but she knew that it wasn't all of it. She knew because, sure, she had had more sleep, but then there had still been the sunrise and Carmilla. As much as Laura didn't want to admit it, there was something about the girl's presence that had just calmed her. She usually didn't share her post-nightmare moments with anyone- she didn't think she ever had in fact- but when Carmilla had walked up to her on the balcony, Laura hadn't wanted to send her away. She genuinely wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the confidence and steadiness Laura could almost always see in her eyes, or perhaps it was that, for once, the girl's aloofness had felt like the unshakable peacefulness Laura desperately needed. Or maybe it was simply _Carmilla_ and the effect the brunette could have on her sometimes. Sometimes was the right word though because 'calm' had never been an emotion the other girl inspired in her and that was still true most of the time.

 

Sometimes or not though, Laura had to admit that, this morning, Carmilla _had_ been her source of peacefulness. Between the quiet moments spent contemplating the breathtaking sunrise and the short conversations, the other woman had managed to ground her in a way no one had ever before. Laura had felt comfortable, she'd felt safe. It was uncanny and new, but not unpleasant altogether.

 

Laura had meant it when she'd said she thought they were becoming friends. Sure, there was still the irritation barrier to get through, but if she'd never imagined it possible before, the small girl had changed her mind now. Because beyond the bickering and the obvious major distinctions between their personalities, Laura felt like maybe they weren't _that_ different in their entirety. They were two independent woman, of course they were, two independent women with different stories and different upbringings for sure. Still, Laura had this unrelenting feeling that they also had more common ground then either of them had ever thought possible.

 

Laura would have lied if she'd said that the idea of cracking Carmilla Karnstein didn't appeal to her. The girl was and had always been a mystery. A mystery that the small girl had never particularly cared for in the past, but a mystery she found herself intrigued with now. Laura was a curious person after all, a journalist by heart and profession. She wouldn't break the other girl to get to know her though. She just hoped that, in time, Carmilla would soften with her and share more of herself. Perhaps then, they truly would be friends.

 

That thought ran through Laura's head for the rest of the morning. Even as she boarded the submarine, her heart beating fast with excitement, she couldn't stop thinking about Carmilla. Her eyes widened in wonder at the views. Gigantic barrel sponges bigger than a man, star corals made of thousands of polyps, shoals of snappers and groupers of every colour and even the occasional enormous stingray, Laura felt like she'd never seen anything quite as beautiful. When a huge hawksbill turtle swam just in front of her porthole, the small girl caught herself wishing that Carmilla was here to witness the sight.

 

She blushed and bit her bottom lip awkwardly. Of course, Carmilla wouldn't have been able to come, the submarine was much too small, so much so that even Laura who had no qualms about tight spaces had needed to calm herself down a bit upon first entering. Still, as impossible as it would have been for the other girl to be here, a part of Laura couldn't help feeling like she would have loved to share the moment with her regardless.

 

All too soon, the excursion was over and Laura was back on the shore. The sun was at its apex, feeling immeasurably hot and good on the small girl's skin. She started to walk on the quays, wondering what she could explore next and whether or not Carmilla was awake now when she came face to face with the girl in question.

 

"Hey!" she exclaimed a bit nervously, as if the brunette had been able to hear her thoughts somehow.

"Hey," Carmilla replied as calm and collected as usual. "Fancy seeing you here," she added with a smirk when Laura remained silent.

 

The small girl smiled and rolled her eyes.

 

"So you finally decided to get up, huh?" she asked, seeing the other girl nod.

"Yeah, well I would have been up earlier, but someone made me watch the damn sunrise so I had some sleep to catch up on," Carmilla teased in response.

"Please!" Laura scoffed. "I didn't make you do anything!"

"You sure, sweetheart?"

"Of course!" she spat, with a small frown. "You sat beside me all on your own."

"Yes, I did. But you didn't tell me to leave either," Carmilla continued.

"Well that would have been rude," Laura defended.

"Nothing that's ever stopped you before, I believe. Come on, creampuff. You wanted my company. It was painfully obvious."

 

Laura's frown intensified and she felt her temper rise. Gosh, Carmilla could be so infuriating.

 

"I did _not_! I was doing just fine by myself, but you joined and I let you stay."

"You keep telling yourself that, hun," the brunette said in a bored tone, looking at her nails.

 

Laura's temper only inflamed even more.

 

"Oh my God, how full of yourself are you?" she almost shouted. "If you didn't want to stay, no one was forcing you! I thought we'd had a good moment, but clearly you just... Why are you laughing?!" Laura stopped herself when she saw the other girl chuckle lightly.

 

She frowned and then it hit her.

 

"You said that to rile me up, didn't you?" she asked, feeling herself grimace when the brunette nodded with a smirk.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and huffed.

 

"You're so infuriating..." she complained, making Carmilla shrug.

"Such a naive, provincial girl. So easy to anger. I couldn't resist," the brunette told her.

 

Laura grimaced, slightly insulted and turned on her heels.

 

"You're a jerk," she said before starting to walk away.

 

Carmilla was quick to catch her wrist and stop her though.

 

"Cupcake, come on! I didn't mean it in a bad way," she said, turning the girl around until Laura saw the soft smile on her lips.

 

She felt her stomach do a bit of a flip and her anger subside a little.

 

"Naive and provincial? How is that a compliment?" she asked moodily.

 

Carmilla seemed to hesitate before replying.

 

"I believe it depends on the person, sweetheart. On you it's... somehow endearing."

 

Laura's eyes widened at the confession.

 

"You think I'm endearing?" she couldn't help to ask.

"That's not what I said exactly," Carmilla complained with an eye roll.

 

Laura wanted to push the matter further, but she stopped herself. She knew there was no way Carmilla would ever admit to that anyway. They stayed silent for a few seconds until the brunette seemed to realise she was still holding Laura's wrist. She let it go and cleared her throat awkwardly.

 

"Did you have a good morning, cupcake?" she asked to diffuse the tension.

"Yes! Oh my God, Carm! I went on the submarine excursion and it was so beautiful! You should have seen it!"

 

Carmilla grimaced and shook her head.

 

"I do not understand the desire people have of locking themselves in a tin can and dive under water," she said.

"Well, duh! Of course you wouldn't!" Laura shot back. "But it was still gorgeous."

 

Carmilla nodded and silence fell between them again.

 

"What's next for you then, creampuff?" the brunette asked, breaking the silence again.

"Oh, I'm not sure! There are so many things! I'm not sure exactly what I want to do. What about you?"

"No clue," she answered with a shrug.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip when an idea hit her. She hesitated for a few seconds, before going for it.

 

"Maybe we could... do something together?" she said uncertainly.

 

Carmilla tilted her head, seemingly considering the idea and Laura waited anxiously. She didn't even know why she cared. She'd be fine even if Carmilla didn't want to hang out with her. In all honesty, she wasn't even sure why she'd offered the girl to hang out in the first place. She reckoned they'd had a good morning together though and if she truly believed in that friendship thing, maybe they could try to stretch their good morning to the afternoon.

 

"Yeah, okay. I... we could do that," Carmilla eventually answer.

 

Laura's lips curved into a beaming smile before she could stop herself.

 

"Really? Awesome! Okay, what do you want to do?" she said rapidly. "I made some research before leaving and I found info on these places," she continued taking out a list from her short's pocket. "There's this limestone formation called 'hell' that looks really nice and also the turtle farm not too far away, of course there's also-"

"Cupcake!" Carmilla interrupted her. "You made a list?"

"Well, yeah... I couldn't remember everything so I noted them down and... what?" she inquired when she spotted Carmilla's amused expression.

"Provincial..." she heard the brunette mutter under her breath as she shook her head.

 

The word didn't have any bite to it though, so Laura let it go.

 

"If we're going to hang out today, we are not doing any of these touristy things," Carmilla explained seriously.

"Well... what do you suggest we do, then?" Laura asked with a small frown.

"I don't know. Let's improvise. See where the day takes us," the other girl replied with a small shrug, shoving her hands in the pockets of her shorts before turning around and walking away.

 

Laura looked at her with her jaw slightly hanging and when Carmilla looked above her shoulder and let out a sharp laugh, she closed it quickly.

 

"Don't tell me Laura Hollis badass field reporter is afraid of a little spontaneity," Carmilla goaded her.

 

Laura frowned and rolled her eyes and although she knew she was doing exactly what Carmilla wanted, she followed and caught up to her. She didn't say anything though and only shoved the brunette gently when she spotted her self-satisfied smirk.

 

Carmilla laughed and Laura tried to bite down her own grin.

 

She had no clue how the rest of her day would go, especially not in the brunette's company, but she was willing to find out. Things most definitely had changed in the past 4 days and Laura couldn't find it in her to mind. Not when the sun was shining and Carmilla was grinning beside her. She had a feeling the afternoon would be memorable and that had to be a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, comments are always appreciated :-) they make my day (or week! who am I kidding!)  
> You can find me on mmekeeklovescarmilla at tumblr dot com. I love reading all your lovely messages! I will answer questions as long as it doesn't spoil anything :) Good day to everyone!  
> MM xx


	9. Chapter 8: By it's cover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla spend the day together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while!! I hope no one was too afraid I wouldn't come back to this! It's taken me a long time to write that one and I can only hope that it meets expectations! At the very least, it's quite long so it should feel like a good dose of story. Will try not to make you wait this long for the next!  
> PS: To all the Naomily fans who are reading this, there are some blatant Skins references in there :P I was feeling nostalgic!

Last chapter on WTWGU: It's day 4 of the cruise and the ship has arrived on the Cayman Islands. Laura had nightmares, Carmilla soothed her and then they cutely watched the sun rise together, but they're totally not friends... Then, Laura went on a submarine and kept thinking about Carmilla so when she ran into her afterwards she asked if she wanted to hang out. Carm said yes and this is it, this is them hanging out. Enjoy!

 

### Chapter 8: By its cover

 

"Do you even know where you're going?" Laura asked, frowning when Carmilla groaned beside her.

 

5 minutes. They'd been walking for 5 minutes only and Laura could not stop asking questions. At first, she'd asked if Carmilla knew anything about the island and then it had moved into questions about whether or not she even had any idea of what she wanted to do. Insistent and insufferable, Laura hadn't shut up for a second and the brunette was seriously starting to regret ever agreeing to hang out with her.

 

Her instinct had been to refuse. It really had. When Laura had made the offer, the first thing that Carmilla had wanted to answer was a definitive no. She didn't really hung out with people, apart from Lafontaine. She was a loner and she was fine with it. Sure, Lafontaine had told her repeatedly over the years that she ought to make more friends, but Carmilla never had. She certainly didn't consider Laura to be a friend either. So it was a bit curious that instead of turning her down, Carmilla had found herself agreeing.

 

Carmilla _could_ say no. She wasn't one of these people who somehow found it difficult, but when Laura had asked her nervously fidgeting, she hadn't wanted to say no. And really, when she'd agreed and Laura had looked at her with a beaming smile, the brunette had been glad she'd accepted. Now though, with the small girl's whines every few seconds, she wasn't so glad anymore.

 

"I'm serious, Carmilla," Laura's voice echoed into the street as if on cue. "If you don't know where you're going, we could get seriously lost!"

"Will you calm _down_?" the brunette snapped back.

"I am perfectly calm!" the other girl replied indignantly. "I'm just _pointing out_ that we could get lost and then what would we even do? We could miss the boat and-"

"Oh my _God_ , creampuff! I get it! Now kindly _relax_ before I leave you out here on your own. You're making me regret ever agreeing to this,"

"You wouldn't do that!" Laura shot back, slightly panicked, accelerating her pace until she was just a few inches beside Carmilla.

"Do not tempt me," the brunette grumbled. "I have little patience with-" She continued, but quickly stopped when she felt Laura grab her arm.

 

She turned around with a confused frown and was surprised when she spotted the clearly alarmed look on the other girl's face.

 

"Please... Don't... Don't leave me on my own. I have no idea where we are and... and..." she trailed off, her eyes getting a bit glassy.

 

Carmilla's heart squeezed painfully at the sight. The girl really had intolerable puppy eyes. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes.

 

"I'm not going to leave you on your own," she promised, trying her best to sound exasperated and not actually concerned.

 

She knew Laura had heard the concern in her voice regardless though when she smiled back at her brightly. Carmilla's heart made a flip inside her chest and she felt herself shiver when the small girl squeezed her arm in thanks. She gulped slowly before detangling herself from Laura's grip.

 

"Now let's go, cutie" she said without looking at the other girl. "And spare me the whining if you don't want me to reconsider."

 

She heard Laura giggle behind her and bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling.

 

They continued to walk for another five minutes and this time, Laura kept quiet. Carmilla could see though that it was hard for her to do so. From the corner of her eye, she could see the small girl worry her bottom lip between her teeth and look around herself with a slightly anxious frown. Nevertheless, she kept quiet and Carmilla had to be thankful. It took another few minutes before she found what she was looking for.

 

She grinned and swerved to her left, rolling her eyes slightly when she heard Laura squeak and follow.

 

"Where are we going?" the small girl asked, unable to stop herself.

"Isn't it obvious?" she shot back with a quirked eyebrow.

 

When Laura frowned in answer, she tilted her head towards the big sign that had caught her attention. Laura's eyes followed the motion and widened when she saw the sign on the window of the bar Carmilla was walking towards. She stopped in her tracks then, her arm shooting forward to grab the brunette's and stopping her.

 

"Wait! You can't be serious?" she hushed.

"And why not?" Carmilla inquired calmly.

"Have you _looked_ at this place?" Laura replied, her eyes wide.

 

When the brunette didn't answer and just kept looking at her she huffed and shook her head.

 

" _The Velvet Cavern_ , come _on_ Carm!" she said, reading the sign. "We can't go in there."

"Again, why not?" the other girl replied, a slow smirk forming on her lips.

"You know why!" Laura groaned, getting annoyed. "The name alone is enough of an indication of how creepy this place probably is, but if that's not enough for you, just _look_ at it! I don't think that front window has been cleaned in _years_!"

"So?" Carmilla asked, chuckling a bit when Laura lifted her arms in the air and squirmed uncomfortably.

" _So_ ," she started pointedly. "I didn't plan on getting food poisoning on this trip, did you? Besides, this looks like the kind of place where drug deals happen. I do _not_ want to walk in on that."

 

The brunette rolled her eyes, but kept smirking.

 

"Oh Cupcake..." she said quietly. "I thought you were a journalist."

"I am," Laura replied proudly, but confusedly. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well isn't it a journalist's job to pursue the truth? Isn't it a prerequisite for a journalist to be able to step out of their comfort zone? Tell me sweetheart how you intend on doing any real journalistic inquiry if you always stick to the safe and the known?"

 

Carmilla stopped talking and quirked an eyebrow at the other girl, waiting for her to respond. Laura stayed quiet though, her cheeks slightly red as it seemed to dawn on her that the brunette had a fair point. Still, admitting it didn't seem to be something Laura was willing to do. Instead, she was biting her bottom lip nervously, shooting glances at the gloomy bar behind them, fidgeting in her spot.

 

Carmilla took a step closer to her and Laura's eyes snapped up.

 

"The beauty of spontaneity..." the brunette began slowly. "Is not knowing how things will turn out. It can be good or it can be bad, either way, you can't know before you've taken the leap," she continued, taking another step forward.

 

She was just a few inches away from Laura now, the small girl looking at her in wonder and surprise, her breaths a bit uneven. Carmilla's entire body was vibrating and her eyes could not leave Laura's.

 

"The best moments are carved in uncertainty, Laura. How could they not? Plans and lists hold no excitement. They cannot consume you like uncertainty can. Because what is more exciting than not knowing what will happen? What is more exciting than the thrill, the anticipation of the unknown?" she trailed off, before smirking. "Beside passionate sex, of course," she added as an afterthought.

 

Laura was blushing furiously now and Carmilla couldn't stop trailing her eyes on her face, alternating between her confusedly blinking eyes, to her slightly opened mouth. When the small girl's tongue darted out quickly to wet her lips, Carmilla's heart thudded loudly in her chest and she felt her own eyes widen a little. Only then did she realise how close she'd stepped to the other girl. She blinked a few times herself, as if waking up from a dream and took a step back.

 

"Of course, this is only a shady looking bar. But, perhaps, it will surprise you. In any case, I am willing to find out," she said, taking another step back. "Are you?"

 

Laura hesitated for a moment and then followed. Carmilla tried to suppress her victorious smile, but she knew she'd somewhat failed when she saw the small girl roll her eyes beside her. They walked towards the entrance of the bar and Carmilla grabbed the door handle. Just before pulling though, she turned to Laura.

 

"Oh and if a drug deal _does_ go down, keep your head down and avoid making eye contact. Dealers won't feel threatened if they don't think you can describe them to the police," she said with a wink, opening the door and chuckling when she heard Laura groan.

 

The inside of the bar was just as Carmilla had expected it would be. Dark and dirty, the walls were painted in a deep burgundy and you could see traces of grease along them. The booths' cushions were ripped in parts, the tables of dark brown wood seemed rickety and there was a layer of dust around the place that clearly indicated that no one had tended to it in a very long time.

 

As they stepped inside, an old fat man behind the bar looked up in surprise and gave them a gruff nod as they walked further in. Carmilla chose a spot at the back of the bar, near an old jukebox that had most likely not functioned in years. There was a candle on the table, its wax stuck directly to the wood, dust covering the wick. There were a few patrons in the bar despite its pitiful state. A few old men giving them weird looks, nursing large beers. Laura stuck close to her and Carmilla smirked.

 

She sat at the table, quirking her brow comically when Laura hesitated to follow, disdain written all over her face. She eventually sat though, but on the edge of her chair. Carmilla rolled her eyes at her.

 

"You should relax cutie," she said. "You can't catch syphilis by sitting here, I assure you," she whispered, laughing when Laura looked unconvinced.

"This place has got to be breaking several health code violations..." she muttered back.

 

Carmilla shook her head and rolled her eyes again.

 

"Relax," she instructed. "I'm going to get us something to drink."

 

With that, she got up and walked up to the bar. She shot the barman her most charming smile, feeling satisfied when she got a small smile in response. She ordered and waited.

 

A few minutes later, she was heading back to her table with a small tray of drinks and a box of matches. Laura eyed her cautiously when she placed it on the table. She paid her no attention grabbing the matches instead to light the candle even if it was the middle of the day- she had always liked the candlelight ambiance.

 

"What is all this?" Laura asked her indicating the tray.

"Alcohol, sweetheart," the brunette replied sarcastically.

 

The small girl narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. Carmilla barely paid any attention as she took out a glass of whiskey and some fruity drink from the tray to place them in front of herself and the other woman respectively.

 

"Yes, I know _that_. I meant... There are a few shots on that tray..." Laura explained.

"Keen observation."

 

Laura frowned as the brunette continued to empty the tray placing 4 shot glasses in front of herself and then 4 more in front of the small girl.

 

"Are we playing a game or something?"

"Sweetheart," Carmilla laughed. "We are no longer children. We don't need to hide our drinking behind the pretext of some game."

"Well then... I mean... why so many?" Laura inquired.

"Because you are in dire need of respite and I fear that, without alcohol, pulling out the large stick you've got up your ass will be too painful."

 

Laura scowled angrily at her, crossing her arms on her chest.

 

"Drink up, cupcake. Sun won't shine forever," Carmilla said, grabbing the first of her shots and draining it in one.

 

She grimaced a little as she placed it back on the table. She looked up at Laura to see that the girl still hadn't moved. She quirked her eyebrows questioningly and the small girl let out a long exasperated sigh, unfolding her arms slowly.

 

"You're a jerk," she grumbled, before taking a shot and sniffing it suspiciously.

"Common politeness would have you _thank_ me for buying you drinks, sweetheart."

"I'm _not_ thanking you," Laura frowned. "You just insulted me."

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and sighed.

 

"I was merely pointing out the obvious. You need to relax and I fear you wouldn't begin to know how without alcohol," she explained with a shrug.

 

Laura's frown intensified and she huffed.

 

"I know how to relax," she defended.

"Oh yeah? Is that why you're still holding that shot glass then?" Carmilla taunted her.

 

The small girl clenched her teeth for a second before bringing the glass to her lips nervously and draining the content. The second she was done, a deep frown covered her features and she began coughing loudly. Carmilla laughed as water gathered in the other woman's eyes, her coughs still reverberating into the almost empty bar.

 

"Oh my _god_!" Laura managed to squeak through. "What the frilly heck _is_ that?!"

"Vodka," the brunette replied casually taking a sip of her whisky.

"That's not vodka!" Laura shot back indignantly. "I've had vodka before and this tasted nothing like vodka! It tasted like... like... rubbing alcohol!"

"Don't exaggerate sweetheart," Carmilla smirked. "It _is_ Vodka, I assure you. It's Devil's spring vodka. Probably a bit stronger than the stuff you're used to."

"How much stronger?" the girl asked warily.

 

Carmilla opened her mouth to answer, but stopped when Laura shook her head and held a hand up.

 

"Actually, don't tell me..." she said. "I think I'd rather not know..."

"As you wish cupcake," the brunette replied with a chuckle.

"I can't believe you got us 4 each... I mean, it's a bit excessive..." she grumbled under her breath.

 

Carmilla sighed loudly and shook her head.

 

"Must you complain about _everything_?" she grumbled.

 

Laura scowled in answer and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

 

"I'm just saying-" she began to explain, but was cut off by Carmilla.

"You're just _proving_ you can't relax, you mean. Honestly, how uptight can you be? This is ridiculous," the brunette sneered.

 

Laura looked furious now. Her cheeks had flared and her teeth were tightly clenched.

 

" _Stop_ saying I'm uptight!" she thundered, uncrossing her arms, her hands clenched into fists. "You know _nothing_ about me Carmilla Karnstein!"

"Don't I?" the brunette replied with a scoff. "You're a child! Always doing what's expected of her, never stepping one toe out of line. I've bought 4 shots and you'd think it was twenty! You make a fuss out of everything. I should have known this would be no different."

"Oh my God!" Laura growled. "You want me to take the shots? _Fine_! But if you _think_ even for a second, that I buy into your stupid need of drinking to have any kind of civil social interaction, you're sorely mistaken! _You're_ the child, because _I_ don't need alcohol to be a somewhat decent human being, you stupid jerkface idiot!" she snapped.

 

Carmilla barely had time to blink before Laura grabbed the second glass in front of her and tossed the content into her mouth quickly. A few seconds later, she'd tossed back the other two and was frowning painfully, her lips pursed. The brunette stared at her with wide eyes and opened her mouth to speak.

 

"No!" Laura snapped at her. "You don't get to say a word to me right now! You don't get to say a _single_ word to me until you've drank your fracking shots! Not when you've just insulted me for not taking mine!"

 

Carmilla stared hard for a moment. The small girl in front of her was livid. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes shining with passion and her chest heaving with anger. The brunette didn't think she'd ever seen her so mad. She opened her mouth again as if to say something and when Laura's nostrils flared in warning, she shut up immediately.

 

The next second, a smile slowly formed on her lips. It took barely a second before she couldn't hold it in anymore and a laugh escaped her lips. Before she knew it, Carmilla was laughing softly, seeing the momentary look of utter confusion on Laura's face before a smile cracked her lips as well and she joined in the laughter.

 

When her amusement had subsided a little, Carmilla smirked at Laura and grabbed one of her remaining shot. She winked at the other girl, not missing the small amused eye roll she got in response before draining its content. A few seconds later, she was slamming the last of her shots on the table, grimacing. Laura looked at her with a smug raised eyebrow and Carmilla couldn't help but roll her own eyes.

 

"I can't believe I just got schooled by Laura Hollis," she said with a slight smile still on her lips.

 

Laura laughed in response, looking even more satisfied as she nodded proudly.

 

"I am full of surprises," she stated.

"Maybe..." Carmilla said, fighting back a grin.

 

Laura's grin widened at the admission and Carmilla found it even harder to keep her own smile at bay. That reaction to the small girl's smile was something the brunette was starting to notice more and more. It was new and bit unsettling. In all the years they'd known each other, in all the dinner parties and forced group hangouts, she had never once thought that there was something infectious about Laura's smile. It felt weird to suddenly feel differently after only a few days. Carmilla genuinely wasn't sure how she felt about it or what it was supposed to mean. She guessed though that perhaps the tiny woman really was starting to grow on her. Perhaps Laura had been right. Perhaps they _were_ somehow becoming friends, Carmilla thought with a tiny lilt of a smile. The thought didn't seem that horrible anymore.

 

She wasn't sure how long she'd been lost in thoughts when Laura spoke, catching her attention once again.

 

"Oh wow..." the girl said, closing her eyes tightly before opening them again. "This vodka is strong..."

 

The brunette chuckled and, sure enough, when she focused her gaze on Laura, the girl looked a bit dazed.

 

"I think it's already starting to kick in," Laura said, her eyebrows scrunched together cutely.

 

She blinked again slowly and looked at Carmilla worriedly before pocking her own cheek.

 

"Okay, definitely kicking in..." she mumbled as the brunette laughed again. "That felt weird... Okay. Okay." she repeated a few times, looking around herself.

 

She looked slightly panicked in that moment and had Carmilla not found this entirely too funny, she might have intervened. Clearly, Laura wasn't used to drinking so much alcohol so fast if the effects were hitting her this hard only minutes later.

 

"Ha!" Laura interrupted her thoughts again, a cellphone clutched in her hand.

"Cupcake, what are you doing with your phone?" Carmilla asked when the small girl focused her attention on the thing. "Please tell me you're not already so drunk you've forgotten that making a call to your ex right now would be ridiculously expensive."

"I'm not calling my ex..." Laura grumbled, still looking at her phone seriously.

"Then may I ask what you're doing? Honestly, why are you even carrying the thing?"

"Emergency purposes. Better to have it than not. And I'm setting up an alarm," she replied absentmindedly.

"What for?" Carmilla asked sincerely curious as Laura finally smiled victoriously and put the phone away.

 

She looked back up at the brunette, a serious expression on her face.

 

"If we're drinking like this, I need to have a reminder of when it's time to head back to the ship!"

"Afraid you'll forget?" she smirked.

"Yes!" Laura replied seriously. "And I am _not_ getting stuck on this island with you!"

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and shook her head.

 

"You never know... you might enjoy it..." she mused, her tone a bit more suggestive than she'd intended.

 

Laura didn't answer, squinting instead, observing her intently. When she furrowed her eyebrows deeper and leaned over the table, looking at her weirdly, Carmilla gave her a questioning look.

 

"What are you doing?" she asked, one of her eyebrow raised.

"Stop moving, I'm trying to see behind your words," Laura instructed, leaning forward again.

 

Carmilla's eyebrows rose even further.

 

"See behind my words?" she repeated, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"Yes," the small girl nodded seriously. "Now stop moving..."

 

The brunette, who hadn't moved a muscle, chuckled and shook her head.

 

"That vodka is hitting you really fast," she observed.

 

Laura pouted at her words.

 

"Yes," she mumbled grumpily. "I can't feel my cheeks," she added after a pause.

 

Carmilla laughed loudly and Laura continued to pout.

 

"Coming here might have been the best idea I've had in a long time," she said wistfully afterwards.

 

Laura shook her head.

 

"No! I wanted to see the turtles..."

"Not to burst your bubble, creampuff, but there was no way in hell you'd have dragged me to see _turtles_."

"Oh..." Laura answered pensively. "Then I guess this will have to do," she said with a nod before taking a sip of her fruity drink, her whole face lighting up instantly. "Carm this is so good!"

"Glad you like it."

"I _really_ do! Carm it tastes like soap!" Laura said happily.

"You do realise soap isn't actually edible..." Carmilla shot back, her amused grin firmly on her lips.

"No, but like, you know the Lush soaps? They always look like big candy bars and they _look_ like they taste wonderful!"

"I wouldn't advice you trying it..."

"I know silly!" Laura giggled with an eye roll and another sip of her drink. "The vodka wasn't _that_ strong."

"You sure?" the brunette teased. "Because you look pretty drunk already."

 

And she really did, Carmilla thought. With her cheeks red, her eyes a bit droopy and the lazy smile on her lips, Laura looked the most relaxed she'd ever seen her.

 

"Hardly!" the small girl defended nonetheless. "Tipsy perhaps, but not _drunk_ ," she finished with yet another eye roll.

"You sure?" Carmilla teased gently.

"Yes! I mean that vodka was strong, but it's not affecting me any more than it's affecting you."

"I beg to differ," Carmilla scoffed.

 

Her head felt pretty clear to her and although she could still taste the burn of the vodka in her stomach, she really did feel fine.

"Oh, come off it!" Laura chuckled. "It's totally affecting you too!"

 

Carmilla frowned and shook her head.

 

"It's not," she defended.

 

Laura smirked and raised an eyebrow and the brunette's frown deepened.

 

"It _is_ , though. Don't you see?" the small girl argued.

"I really don't..."

 

Laura clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes before shaking her head.

 

"You're so difficult! But it's _obvious_ really! The alcohol is totally affecting you because for _once_ you're actually being nice!" Laura announced proudly.

 

She chuckled when Carmilla scoffed and rolled her eyes very slowly in response.

 

"That's it? That's your big indicator? That's weak creampuff," she said.

"No, it's not! It's like _super_ good! Because even earlier you purposefully riled me up and, honestly, it's very hard for me to spend more than 5 minutes in your company and not want to strangle you and I haven't wanted to do that in maybe 10 minutes. _10_ minutes Carm! That's like... a _lot_!" Laura explained.

 

Carmilla raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

 

"I sincerely hope that this isn't how you woo your women, sweetheart, because if it is, then it's no wonder you're single," she shot back.

 

Laura glared at her a little or at least she tried to. The alcohol had clearly continued to affect her because her eyes were a bit glossy and her movements clumsy. Also, her glare looked more like a pout.

 

"Okay, I take that back, maybe you aren't _that_ drunk," Laura said grumpily.

 

Carmilla laughed loudly at what the small girl had implied and Laura's annoyed expression softened until she smiled.

 

"That's actually another indicator," she said, making Carmilla frown in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"Well... you've been smiling and laughing more than usual," Laura admitted.

"Have I? Well I apologize for ruining the carefully constructed image you have of me," the brunette teased, making her smile disappear. "Please, allow me to correct that."

 

Laura shook her head vehemently.

 

"No, no don't!" she said almost pleadingly. "It's... it's nice." she finished, her cheeks red and her teeth catching her bottom lip.

 

Carmilla matched the small girl's shy smile with one of her own, her heart feeling weirdly heavy and light at the same time.

 

"You should smile more often," Laura added after a moment.

 

Carmilla snorted in response.

 

"Christ, cupcake! That was pathetically cliché. I hope that that's also not how you woo your women."

"Stuff it!" Laura groaned. "You don't get to be mean! That was a _compliment_!"

"Indeed, if only a very poorly worded one," Carmilla shot back.

"That's rude! How can you go from being nice to totally rude in like... a second!"

"Natural talent, obviously." the brunette shrugged looking smug.

 

Laura rolled her eyes, but when she answered there was still a smile on her lips.

 

"You can be so annoying," she said.

"Yet, you say that with a smile? My my cupcake, are you starting to _like_ me?" Carmilla teased.

 

Laura's eyes narrowed.

 

"I don't like you!" she defended hotly.

"You wound me. I thought you were the one that said we were becoming friends. Did I hear incorrectly?"

 

The small girl groaned and grabbed her head between her hands.

 

"You are _so_ annoying," she complained as Carmilla chuckled.

"Seriously, cutie, you need to stop showering me with compliments. I'm getting all hot and bothered," she deadpanned.

" _Please_ , if I wanted to get you hot and bothered you would totally be!" Laura shot back, making the brunette's eyebrows shot up so much in surprise that they almost disappeared.

 

Was Laura flirting with her? Carmilla couldn't recall a time when the smaller girl had actually replied in kind to one of her jibes. Yet, here she was. She had. The brunette couldn't lie, it was attractive.

 

"Is that so?" she replied after a beat or two.

"Yup!" the small girl nodded smugly. "Not that _you_ 'll ever actually know," she finished, sticking her tongue out at the brunette and sucking on the end of her drink's straw.

 

Carmilla looked at her in surprise, but also in wonder. Maybe Laura really _was_ full of surprises, she thought.

 

"I'm out," Laura announced a few seconds later pointing at her drink. "Drink up _cupcake_ ," she continued, lowering her voice to mimic Carmilla's own, before shooting up and walking to the bar. "I'm getting us refills."

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes after her and scowled when she realised that the small girl was obviously pleased with herself and that she didn't even mind. When Laura strolled back to their table a few minutes later, she was carrying two shots between her fingers along with a refill for herself and the brunette.

 

" _Drink up, cupcake. Sun won't shine forever_ ," she said, her voice still deep, looking Carmilla directly in the eyes, a huge self-satisfied grin on her lips.

"You're still pretty bad at this imitation thing," the brunette commented with another eye roll before grabbing the shot, toasting mid-air towards the other girl and draining it in one.

 

Laura quickly followed suit, bringing a hand to her lips as she slammed the glass back onto the table. Her lips were still coated with a thin layer of alcohol when she pulled her hand away and Carmilla's eyes were instantly drawn to them. The brunette tried to hide her gulp when Laura's tongue darted out to lick to liquid off and raised her head to look back at her.

 

"Okay, I guess this is the part where we actually get to know each other a little bit better, huh?" Laura said.

"Is it?" Carmilla shot back, trying to regain some control on herself.

 

Maybe the alcohol _was_ affecting her a bit.

 

"Yes, yes. I mean we _are_ pretending to be girlfriends. We should probably know more about each other than our last names."

"True."

"Besides, it's like the international rule of hanging out. We don't have a choice really," Laura continued trying to look as serious as possible, but Carmilla could see that she wanted to laugh.

 

She smirked herself in answer.

 

"Oh, well if it's the international rule, we must oblige."

 

Laura did laugh this time.

 

***

 

They spent a good part of the afternoon chatting easily. Carmilla was surprised to find that talking to Laura Hollis wasn't as unpleasant and tiring as she'd always thought. It was even enjoyable, not that she'd have ever admitted it. Maybe it was the alcohol, but for once, Laura wasn't getting overtly mad at her jibes and responded in kind most of the time, shoving all of Carmilla's sass right back at her casually before continuing the conversation. It was new and addicting. It made the brunette want to tease her all the more.

 

"So how are you finding the trip so far?" Laura asked first, her eyes wide opened, her attention entirely on Carmilla.

"That's going to be your opening question? Really?"

"What's wrong with it?" the small girl defended.

"It's mundane."

"What? Oh come on! It's a perfectly good opening question. Just answer it."

"I really don't think I should."

"Why do you have to be so complicated about this? Just answer the question!"

" _Fine_!" Carmilla complied with a sigh, before smirking. "I'm having the worst time of my life. The weather's shit, company's even worse."

" _God_ you're annoying!" Lauray groaned shaking her head.

 

Carmilla couldn't help, but laugh. It hadn't deterred Laura in the slightest though and the questions continued to flow.

 

"What's your favourite colour?" Laura asked later.

"Why do you insist on doing this to me?"

"Just answer the question Carmilla!" the small girl answered, used to the other girl's complaining by now.

"Why should I? The answer is irrelevant."

"Just _answer_!"

"This is pointless, but very well, if you insist..." she groaned in response. "Black and I _swear to God_ if you say that it isn't a real colour I'm not answering another question."

"You're no fun!"

 

The afternoon carried on and as the questions multiplied, Carmilla learned more about Laura than she ever had before. As it turned out, the small girl had an opinion about, well, everything. Alcohol, it seemed, had loosened her tongue and freed her hands. If Laura had always been more reserved around her, she wasn't now. She was talking a mile a minute, her hands busily illustrating her words whenever they could. She was passionate and attentive and completely entirely not what Carmilla had expected her to be.

 

"So what do you do exactly?" Laura asked her when they were well into their third round of drinks. "I know you work for a big company, but I don't think I actually know what exactly it is you do..."

"I work in the human resources department," she provided.

"Oh."

"You seem surprised. Didn't think I'd work with humans?"

"Well... There's that," Laura admitted sheepishly. "But also, didn't you do a, uh, philosophy major?"

"You remember that?" Carmilla asked genuinely surprised.

 

Laura shrugged as if the brunette had told her the week before and not 6 years ago.

 

"Well, I _did_ do a philosophy major, but my minor was in business administration."

"Oh, okay, yeah... So human resources... Cool! Do you like it?" the small girl inquired enthusiastically.

 

Carmilla shrugged in reply and Laura frowned.

 

"Well that didn't seem very wholehearted..."

"It's fine. Not the type of work that arouses passion."

"Why do you work there if you don't like it more than that then?" Laura asked, her brow cutely scrunched.

 

Carmilla stiffened a little. Normally, she didn't like to go into details about her job, but the shots and whiskeys she'd ingested along with Laura's sincere and curious expression stopped her from avoiding the answer.

 

"The company I work for is my adoptive family's corporation," she explained slowly. "Morgan industries-"

"Oh my God, _Morgan_ industries?!" Laura interrupted. "You were adopted by the owners of..." she trailed off, quickly shutting up when she spotted Carmilla's unimpressed expression. "Sorry... go on."

"I was indeed adopted by the Morgans. Technically, my full name is Carmilla Karnstein-Morgan, not that I ever use the name Morgan. But anyway, I digress... Michael Morgan was the C.E.O as well as my adoptive father before he passed. Mother has since then taken on the position. It was always very clear that she desired me to follow in hers and father's footsteps. I couldn't stomach the idea of business however. Human resources was... a compromise, albeit a disappointing one according to mother," she finished quietly, surprising even herself by the honesty of her words.

 

Laura nodded slowly as she took it all in. Carmilla didn't blame the small girl for being slightly shocked. Her family's corporation was very big and well-known after all. Still, it only served to remind her why she didn't like to use the name Morgan. She had never liked the attention it brought.

 

"Wow... that's... I mean... And is that... Is that what you want to do?" Laura asked carefully after a few seconds.

 

She rephrased quickly when she saw Carmilla's shoulders tense even more in response.

 

"Or I mean like... what would you have chosen to do if you hadn't been related in any way to Morgan industries?"

 

Carmilla tried to shrug casually, but the movement was too stiff, her face visibly frozen in a mask of indifference, to be subtle. She didn't want to answer this question and she wouldn't.

 

"Probably nothing," she brushed off. "Besides, human resources isn't that bad. I get to fire people and that's always good fun," she said, adding a smirk for good measures.

 

Laura eyed her for a few seconds and Carmilla could tell that she knew that she hadn't been completely honest. She hoped though that the small girl would sense her discomfort and let it go. She had no desire to dig into the topic. Laura nodded after a few seconds, letting Carmilla know that she would drop the subject, but not before saying one last comment.

 

"I... I hope it _is_ fine... I mean, I know that not everyone has the chance of doing their dream job and I know that I know nothing of your relationship with your mother, but... well... Everyone deserves to be happy Carm... And settling... I just think you deserve better than that is all," Laura said quietly and nervously, her eyes trained on the wooden table before lifting shyly to meet Carmilla's.

 

The brunette felt her heart squeeze as she stared. No one had ever said anything of like that to her and hearing it coming from Laura Hollis- of all people- was strangely exhilarating. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Laura giggled nervously and shook her head. The next second, she asked a question about food and the conversation continued.

 

***

 

The afternoon carried on mostly as if nothing had happened. The questions kept coming one after the other and it seemed like Laura had so many of them that they would never run out.

 

Eventually they began discussing their teenage years and it was with bright red cheeks that the small girl admitted that she'd never really played any typical high school drinking games.

 

"Wait! So you've never played any of them?" Carmilla asked, incredulous.

"Well... There never really was an occasion for me to..."

"None of them? Really? Never have I ever? Spin the bottle? Truth or dare?" the brunette listed, her eyes widening every time Laura shook her head. "How is that even possible? Don't get me wrong sweetheart, you haven't missed much, but those are pubescent classics. I find it difficult to believe anyone could attend a party and not be rooted into one of these games..."

 

At Carmilla's words, Laura's cheeks flared even more and she bit her bottom lip nervously. The brunette caught the sheepish look instantly.

 

"Wait... Don't tell me... Have you never attended a party?" she asked.

"I have!" the small girl defended, her whole face bright red. "Just... I mean... not before I was in College..."

"What?!" Carmilla exclaimed through her laughter.

"Don't laugh..." Laura whined, clearly uncomfortable. "I had invites, but my dad... he didn't trust me not to drink and he was afraid I'd pass out in a ditch or something..."

"Sounds like someone lived in a hamster ball for a few years..." Carmilla mused.

"He just had... safety concerns..." Laura defended automatically.

"Well that explains a lot," the brunette said solemnly.

"What do you mean?"

"It explains why you're so uptight, cutie. Denied the experimental years of partying and errors, how could you not be so?" she explained smugly.

 

The second she was done speaking, Laura frowned.

 

"Okay, you need to _stop_ calling me uptight, right now!" she exclaimed angrily. "Just because I wasn't allowed to party in high school, it doesn't mean I didn't get _plenty_ of party experience afterwards! And I am _not_ uptight!"

"Oh yeah? And you're sure of that, are you?"

"Yes! I am relaxed and laid-back and... and...awesome, okay?! I could out-party you any day!" Laura boasted proudly.

"Could you now?" Carmilla grinned wickedly. "Care to prove it?" she goaded the small girl.

"You want me to prove it?" Laura asked, her voice wavering a little.

 

It only made the brunette's smile grow.

 

"Yes," she nodded. "Surely someone as... _awesome_ as you wouldn't find that problematic..."

 

Laura frowned at the challenge and huffed.

 

"Okay! I'll prove it to you! Let's go," she said, getting up quickly.

 

She was barely up though when the effects of the last few drinks seemed to hit her all at once. She wavered and caught herself on the table before blinking rapidly.

 

"Everything alright, sweetheart?" Carmilla asked teasingly, only receiving a frown in response.

"I'm perfect!" Laura countered proudly before grabbing her bag and strutting towards the exit.

 

Carmilla followed with an amused smile on her lips.

 

***

 

Laura seemed to walk with such determination that, had Carmilla not known better, she might have thought that the small girl knew where she was going. As it was though, the brunette _did_ know better. That didn't stop her from following the other woman regardless. It was funny to see her stumble a little, her face scrunched up in concentration as she searched for whatever it was she'd left the bar for.

 

They weaved through streets after streets and the more they walked, the less Carmilla knew where they actually were. Not that she cared though. Following Laura was amusing in itself and the brunette was content to do just that without asking herself any questions. She had faith that the small girl knew what she was looking for despite the amount of alcohol in her blood. She was proven right too when, after a few minutes, Laura shouted happily before disappearing inside what appeared to be a small grocery store. Carmilla waited for her outside and she'd just began wondering whether or not she had been meant to follow when Laura came back out with a plastic bag and a smug grin.

 

"And what do you have here, creampuff?" Carmilla drawled.

"All the proof I will ever need," the small girl replied confidently.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes in response, trying real hard to keep a straight face.

 

"Show me," Carmilla demanded a lot more quietly then she'd intended.

 

Laura looked at her for a few seconds seemingly lost in thoughts before actually shaking her head and opening her plastic bag. From its depths, she pulled out a can of beer and a pen. Then, she placed the bag down on the ground and looked up at Carmilla proudly.

 

"Ever heard of a shotgun?" she asked happily as she began shaking the can.

 

Carmilla felt her smile grow and she nodded.

 

"Of course," she replied casually.

"Well, _I_ am the champion of shotguns," Laura declared with a proud little nod.

 

The small girl shook the can harder as the brunette's eyebrow rose. Then, without so much as a warning, she pierced the can with the pen and pressed it to her lips when the liquid came bursting out. She barely seemed to breathe for the next few seconds and when she finally pulled her lips away from the can, it was empty. Laura grinned and looked up at Carmilla.

 

"See?" she said happily and the brunette chuckled.

"Very impressive cupcake," she answered with an eye roll.

 

Laura's grin widened at Carmilla's mild response.

 

"I knew you'd pretend it was nothing," the small girl announced, her head held high. "So..." she trailed off picking her plastic bag back up and producing two more beer cans from within it.

 

Carmilla's eyebrow rose questioningly as Laura looked at her, her eyes glinting with mischief.

 

"Carmilla Karnstein," she said slowly. "I challenge you to _try_ to do that shotgun faster than me."

 

The brunette's eyebrows rose even higher and her grin widened.

 

"A drinking challenge? Are you quite sure you can handle that sweetheart?" she teased.

 

Laura scoffed in response.

 

"Very well," Carmilla said with a nod. "But perhaps, we should move this little contest away from the main street. Public drinking is, after all, usually frowned upon."

"Oh! Right!" the small girl squeaked.

 

Then, she grabbed Carmilla's hand and dragged her to the nearest alley. The brunette felt a shiver run up her arm at the contact. She gulped slowly when they stopped in the alley a few seconds later and Laura turned to look at her, her eyes glossy with alcohol, her hair puffy and bright in the sunlight.

 

"Here," Laura said, handing her a can, taking one herself.

 

The small girl started to shake hers and Carmilla followed suit.

 

"You can have this first, too," Laura said, handing Carmilla the pen. "A head start will help you," she bragged.

"You're awfully confident," Carmilla grinned, taking the pen nonetheless.

"You're not going to win," the small girl said with a nod. "I'm the champion."

"We'll see about that..." the brunette mumbled.

 

They continued to shake their cans for a few more seconds, eyeing each other with matching grins. When Laura deemed they were ready, she stopped and nodded at Carmilla.

 

"See you after I kick your butt!" She provoked.

 

The brunette only rolled her eyes at her in response and planted the pen into her beer can. She'd barely pressed it to her lips when Laura grabbed the pen from her and followed suit. The cheap beer filled Carmilla's throat and she gulped the liquid as fast as she could. Her eyes watered a bit from the lack of air, but she pushed on, willing to defeat the other woman.

 

As fast as she went though, there was still liquid shooting from her can when Laura pulled her empty one from her lips, a huge victorious smile on her face as she licked her lips.

 

"Who's the uptight girl with no party experience now?!" the small girl exclaimed happily, throwing her can on the ground and lifting her arms in the air.

 

Already defeated, Carmilla stopped drinking to breathe and Laura giggled with glee at the sight of the remaining beer dripping from the brunette's can.

 

"I won! I _so_ won!" she shouted with joy, jumping up and down in what had to be a victory dance.

 

Carmilla shook her head in disbelief before shrugging. She tried to appear impassive because, even if she truly wasn't bothered by the loss, the brunette was still far from unaffected. As she stared at Laura and her silly dancing, liquid still gleaming on the small girl's chin, Carmilla's heart sped up.

 

" _How could I have been so wrong?_ " she caught herself thinking.

 

She'd spent years seeing nothing more than a naive, provincial girl when looking at Laura Hollis. She'd spent years teasing her and annoying her, believing her to be this tightly wound small town girl who liked to talk big, but knew nothing. She'd never once questioned her judgment of the other girl, she'd never once cared to. She'd done her very best to avoid doing so actually. But now? Now she knew she'd been wrong, so completely wrong.

 

Before, Carmilla had seen an uninteresting, mundane girl, now though she was seeing something different entirely. Laura was so much more than she'd ever believed. All at once, the brunette was invaded with thoughts of gentle smiles and kind looks, thoughts of vibrant eyes and infectious laughter. All at once, she was invaded by the memories of a reassuring hand in hers and appeasing words spoken in a whisper. Things that had held no specific meaning to her before, but now meant so much more.

 

Yes, Laura was more then she'd ever realised and as she looked at her in the evening light, dancing like a fool, her laughter and cries of victories reverberating in the empty alleyway and her hair wild, Carmilla knew that she had never found her more beautiful.

 

She gulped slowly, her own smile fading from her lips. How had she never seen this before, she wondered.

 

Laura continued to dance happily, stopping when she noticed that Carmilla was no longer smiling.

 

"Are you being a sore loser, grumpy shorts?" she called unashamedly.

 

The brunette made a show of rolling her eyes and felt a jolt of surprise course through her when she felt a small finger poke her in the ribs. A surprised grin broke onto her lips and she stared at Laura's proud expression with her mouth slightly agape. The small girl looked at her, her eyes glinting, her chin still wet with beer and Carmilla's heart only squeezed further in her chest.

 

"Come here you dribbling child," she chastised softly, finding the other woman's arm and tugging her closer.

 

Although her pull had been gentle, it seemed like Laura's inebriation was finally catching up with her and she lost her footing, catching herself onto Carmilla's elbows.

 

"Jesus, cupcake," the brunette chuckled. "How drunk are you?"

"Kinda, maybe really a lot, probably..." the small girl mumbled, her nose scrunched up cutely.

"Here..." Carmilla whispered, one of her hand finding Laura's neck as the thumb of the other wiped the girl's chin.  

 

Laura gripped her elbows tighter and her eyes found Carmilla's. They were wide and curious and the brunette found herself immediately drawn. Her thumb continued to trace Laura's chin absentmindedly as she stared, her expression serious.

 

She stopped the movements of her thumb after a while, but didn't step back. Laura was still holding onto her elbows a bit unsteadily and staring at her as if she'd never seen her before. Carmilla couldn't help but wonder if perhaps that was exactly what was happening. Her eyes drifted to the small girl's lips on their own accord and she saw Laura's chest heave and her tongue dart out in response. The simple sight of it made Carmilla's body hum and she licked her own lips, her heart leaping in her throat when she saw Laura's eyes follow the movement. She relished in the proximity of the small girl's body and before she had time to realise what she was doing, Carmilla had stepped slightly closer. Laura didn't move, her eyes firmly locked with the brunette's.

 

Carmilla wasn't sure how long they stood like that, somewhat tangled into each other and she wasn't sure if it was the alcohol in her body affecting her brain, but she knew that she didn't want to step away.

 

"Carmilla..." Laura said in a soft whisper, taking a shaky step forward.

 

The brunette's eyes widened and she felt her head lower. She'd just began to close her eyes when a loud sound made her heart jump inside her chest and she stepped away instinctively.

 

_Grab your glocks when you see Tupac_

_Call the cops when you see Tupac, uh_

_Who shot me,_

_But your punks didn't finish_

_Now you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace_

_Nigga, I hit 'em up_

Carmilla blinked confusedly at the sound of the music, but quickly realised that it was coming from Laura's bag. A fact the small girl didn't seem to have realised as she looked around herself in wonder before finally turning back towards Carmilla.

 

"Carm!" she said excitedly. "That's my favourite song! How is my favourite song playing?! That's so awesome!"

 

Carmilla's surprise was infinite.

 

"It's coming from your bag, sweetheart," she chose to say first, raising an eyebrow at the other woman's astonished expression.

 

Laura blinked a few times before digging inside her bag. A second later she was clutching her phone which was still playing the loud beat.

 

_Ride on you_

_Bitch made ass Bad Boys bitches_

_ah yo, yo, hold the fuck up_

 

Laura tapped her phone and the song stopped.

 

"It was my alarm!" she said as if everything was finally making sense. "I forgot I set it! But it means we have to get back on the boat," she continued starting to walk towards the street.

 

She didn't get to go too far though before she stumbled a little, Carmilla catching her by the waist quickly to stabilize her.

 

"Oh God! Thanks," she said. "Walking is harder than I remembered..." she whined with a little pout.

 

It seemed the beer had finally pushed her past her limit.

 

"No problem cutie," Carmilla mumbled before moving her hands away from Laura's waist. "Now, before we get back, explain to me how this can be your favourite song," she demanded still not over her initial surprise.

"Which song?" the small girl inquired with a frown and Carmilla rolled her eyes.

"The song you set as your alarm, sweetheart," she clarified.

"Oh, Hit 'em up? I _love_ Tupac!" Laura answered with a huge grin on her face. "First off, fuck your bitch, and the clique you claim, West side when we ride, come equipped with game, you claim to be a player, but I fucked your wife, we bust on Bad Boys, niggas for life!" she sang way too happily for the lyrics.

 

Carmilla blinked a bit and shook her head. Had the small girl really said that or was she herself just as drunk as Laura seemed to be?

 

"You love _Tupac_?" she repeated slowly.

"Yes! I've loved him since high school," Laura confirmed.

 

Carmilla blinked again.

 

"I'm sorry creampuff. I'm trying to imagine an even tinier you listening to Tupac and I just... I don't understand how that's possible. Pardon me, but you look a lot more like a Taylor Swift fan than Tupac..."

"Oh I love Taylor too!" Laura said grinning widely and then laughing when she spotted Carmilla's confused expression. "Marissa Clarke," she added once she was done laughing.

"Cupcake, did you hit your head or something?"

" _No_! Marissa Clarke! She was my first serious crush!" Laura explained. "She was a few years older than me and she had the most beautiful soft skin and jet black curly hair and full lips. I noticed her during my first week of high school, but obviously she didn't. I couldn't get enough of her though and I really wanted to talk to her, but I knew she'd never give me the time of the day if I just went over and said hi. So I observed her and one day I saw a poster of Tupac in her locker. I had my dad drive me to the record store after that and I bought all his albums. I started listening to him all the time. Once I knew a few songs by heart, I brought a CD to school and put it in my locker. Then, one day when Marissa was walking by, I pretended to grab some stuff and dropped the CD in front of her. She grabbed it for me and made some comment, I can't remember what it was, but I know I sort of managed to say something that proved I really knew Tupac and that got us talking. We dated for a few months after that," the small girl concluded with a shrug.

 

Carmilla stared at her comically for a few seconds before laughing.

 

"Wow... So _that's_ how you woo your women, huh?" she said softly.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip and smiled.

 

"I guess so!" she admitted. "Anyway, I really _did_ like Tupac! I've been listening to him ever since."

 

The brunette shook her head in disbelief.

 

"You're something else, Laura Hollis," she muttered, her eyes unable to look at anything but the girl in front of her.

 

Laura beamed brightly in response, her smile lighting up her entire face. It made Carmilla's heart do a somersault inside her ribcage.

 

"Now let's go before we miss the boat," the brunette said eventually, dragging her eyes away from the other woman.

"Oh, yes!" Laura said with an exaggerated nod.

 

She began to walk, but lost her balance quickly.

 

"Jesus, cupcake..." Carmilla mumbled as the small girl gripped her arm to hold herself upright.

"Carm the ground's moving..." she whined. "Can I hold your hand to help?" she asked then, her eyes big and pleading.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes playfully, but reached out to grab the small girl's hand nonetheless. She tried to ignore the way her heart accelerated when Laura grinned happily and laced their fingers together.

 

They started walking back, the small girl leaning heavily on their tangled hands. They reached the street and a car passed in front of them. Laura stopped dead in her tracks and gawked comically when she noticed that it was traveling in the left lane.

 

"Carm!" she exclaimed. "When did we get to England?! Or wait... are we in Australia?!"

 

The brunette looked at her to see if the other woman was joking, but when she realised that she wasn't, she started laughing hard.

 

"Creampuff," she said gently a few seconds later. "We're in the Cayman islands..." she explained.

"But... the cars..."

"Yes, the cars. The Cayman Islands are under English dominion."

"Ohhhh!" Laura said with a quick nod. "I knew that... I think," she added after a beat.

 

Carmilla chuckled and tugged her hand forward.

 

"Sure, genius. Let's go now before we're late."

"Go where?" the small girl asked her confusedly.

"Back to the boat," Carmilla reminded her.

"Oh, yes! I knew that too!" Laura nodded before starting to walk.

 

The brunette didn't follow though and the other woman gave her a quizzical look.

 

"The boat is the _other_ way,"

"Is it? Huh... _That_ I didn't know!"

 

Carmilla laughed and tugged Laura's hand until she followed her a bit shakily.

 

***

 

It took them longer than expected to get back to the quays. Even if Carmilla had known where to go at first, she had quickly realised that she should have paid closer attention to their route during Laura's search for a grocery store. After a few turns on various streets, the brunette had had to admit that they were actually lost. To Laura's credit, she hadn't panicked, deciding instead to ask the way to the quays to a stranger. Of course, the man she'd spotted had regarded her a bit funnily when she'd started talking to him in a very butchered Spanish.

 

"Cupcake, _English_ dominion, remember?" Carmilla had reminded her.

"Oh, yes, right!" the small girl had said before addressing the man again, this time in English.

 

Eventually, they'd found their way and it was at a run that they'd reached the small boat that took them back to the ship. They'd giggled on the way over, Carmilla harder than ever when Laura had looked about to vomit from the motion of the boat on the water.

 

She hadn't been sick in the end and it was only when they'd reached the ship that Carmilla realised that Laura hadn't let go of her hand for the entire ride. She'd bitten her lip and closed her eyes a little when she realised that she hadn't let go either. They did eventually let go when they boarded the ship again and Carmilla tried to ignore how she missed the weight of Laura's hand in hers almost instantly.

 

The trek to their stateroom was all the distraction she needed. Still pretty inebriated, it took a lot of effort for Laura to climb the stairs all the way to their floor. Carmilla reminded her that she could take the elevator, but Laura refused vehemently. After a lot of slip ups and a lot of giggles though they did manage to make it in one piece.

 

Laura wanted to crash into bed the second they did, but Carmilla refused to let her do so without dinner. The small girl wanted to argue, but the brunette cut the complaining short by reminding her that she'd have to nurse a powerful hangover the next day if she skipped dinner altogether.

 

"You _care_ about me," Laura said with a surprised, but pleased smile.

 

Carmilla felt her stomach lurch at the affirmation.

 

"You mistake my intent, sweetheart," she replied smoothly, refusing to look at the other girl as she did.

"Then why do you care if I have a hangover tomorrow?" Laura challenged with a smug smile.

"May I remind you that we're spending another day together tomorrow?" the brunette answered with a lifted eyebrow. "It's your cultural excursion is it not? I care little if you can't handle your alcohol and suffer for it the next day, but if I'm to spend it in your company, I'd rather you were in a somewhat good mood." she finished with a shrug.

 

There was a small moment of silence following her words, long enough for Carmilla to chance a look in Laura's direction. She wished she hadn't though when she saw the gentle smile on the girl's lips.

 

"It's okay," she said, sinking further into their bed. "Your secret is safe with me. I promise I won't tell anyone that you actually care."

 

Carmilla wanted to argue, wanted to protest the words further, but she gritted her teeth and held her tongue.

 

"I'm going to take a shower," she mumbled before disappearing quickly into the bathroom.

 

Once under the warm water, the brunette found herself sighing heavily, her eyes closed. She could hear Laura's laughter in her head, feel the force of her stare on her skin. Carmilla brushed water out of her face with a hand and sighed again. She was consumed by thoughts of Laura, thoughts she knew were made even more pressing due to the alcohol in her body. Sure she could walk mostly straight and still had a better sense of everything than Laura seemed to have, but she had still drunk a lot too and she could feel the effect of it in the way her senses seemed enhanced, in the way she couldn't brush away her thoughts as easily as she would have wanted to.

 

When Carmilla came out of the shower, their dinner had been brought up to their room. Laura hadn't wanted to go down, voicing quickly that she didn't want Danny to see her like this. The comment had made the brunette's chest flare with a pinch of jealousy, but she had brushed it aside. She had no desire to see the gigantic annoyance of a woman either.

 

They ate on the edge of their bed, making light conversation. Laura had switched their tv on while the brunette was showering and had chosen to watch some Spanish soap opera. It was ridiculous, but the small girl insisted on watching.

 

"Do you think that's her boyfriend's mum?" Laura inquired out loud at some point during the episode. "Maybe she cheated on him with his deceiving twin and now she wants forgiveness, but the mum is mad..." she mused.

 

Carmilla laughed and raised one of her eyebrow at the other woman.

 

"Nice try, but not exactly," she answered casually.

"Wait, you understand what's going on?"

"Of course. Libia, that's the younger one, was sleeping with the woman's husband, but she didn't know he was married. Now Gabriela, the widow, is basically calling her a slut, which, honestly, feels a bit much. I've never been partial to slut shaming women for having a sexuality..." she explained as Laura gaped at her.

"Wow... I didn't know you could speak Spanish... That's... wow..." the small girl said turning her eyes back on the tv, her cheeks flushing a little.

 

Carmilla smirked to herself and they continued to watch for a few seconds before Laura turned to her again.

 

"How many languages do you speak?" she asked before biting her bottom lip shyly.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." the brunette teased, letting her lips curved into a self-satisfied grin as Laura pouted a little.

 

They continued to watch in silence after that until they'd finished eating. Once they had, Laura declared that it was her turn to go for a shower and when she stood up, she seemed stronger on her feet than she had been earlier in the afternoon. She came back several minutes later, her hair wet and wearing her pyjamas. She slipped into bed after that and sighed happily.

 

"Ready for bed?" Carmilla asked her. "How's the head? Still spinning?"

"Yeah... a bit" Laura answered, her nose scrunched. "But it's much better."

 

The brunette nodded seemingly satisfied and disappeared into the bathroom for a second. When she came back out, she was holding a glass of water. She placed it beside Laura and the small girl grinned at her thankfully. Carmilla could see in her eyes that she wanted to comment on the gesture, but she restrained herself to the brunette's relief.

 

"You heading out like usual?" she asked instead.

 

Carmilla nodded and began to move towards the door, but stopped when Laura called after her.

 

"Carm!"

"Yeah?"

 

The small girl sat and reached forward to grab Carmilla's hand. She tugged until the woman had sat beside her on the mattress.

 

"I just wanted to say..." she began nervously. "Thanks for today. I... I had a great time. You were right, spontaneity really does make the best moments."

 

Laura smiled softly after her words, her cheeks red, her hair slightly in front of her eyes and her hand still grasping the brunette's. Carmilla couldn't look at anything else.

 

"Yeah, sure... Anytime cupcake," she murmured back, squeezing the girl's hand almost instinctively.

 

Laura smiled again and Carmilla wondered how it was possible for a smile to be this bright.

 

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early?" Laura asked.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

 

"As much as it pains me to wake at an ungodly hour, _yes_ , creampuff. See you tomorrow, bright and early."

 

Laura bit her bottom lip in response and seemed to hesitate a moment before moving forward to kiss the other girl's cheek. In the gesture though, the small girl's lips landed closer to her own than they ever had, the very corner of their mouths touching. Carmilla felt like her insides had caught fire when Laura lingered there just a bit. She closed her eyes and held her breath and when the small girl moved back again, her eyes heavy with softness and sleep, she wished her a goodnight and all but fled the room.

 

It was only once she'd stepped out of their room, the feeling of Laura so close still heavy in her chest, that she remembered to breathe again. She definitely needed a drink.

 

***

 

Hours and a glass or two of whiskey later, Carmilla's thoughts were still raging. She'd spent most of the evening trying to come to terms with these new _feelings_ she was experiencing towards Laura and nothing had really helped. She couldn't understand how years of genuine dislike and disinterest could have been shattered so quickly.

 

A part of her wanted nothing more than to curse Lafontaine for having been right all along when saying that Laura wasn't who Carmilla thought. The other part though seemed to care only about Laura herself. Her interest was piqued now and it was hungry. It wanted to get to know the other girl even more, wanted to learn all her traits and quirks, wanted to know everything that inflamed her, made her vibrate with passion. It demanded it of her almost, but Carmilla wasn't sure that she was ready to satiate it.

 

She liked her independence, liked the control she had always felt she had on her feelings and desires. This time though, it seemed like she had very little control and it unnerved her. That didn't mean that she wasn't willing to change the nature of her relationship with the small girl, wasn't willing to get closer to her, but she didn't want to rush into it.

 

She wanted to do it on her own terms, wanted to do it gradually at a pace that didn't seem so frightening and inevitable. Yet, as much as she wanted that, Carmilla feared that it wasn't quite that simple. Laura had an effect on her, an effect that made her feel like she was losing herself. Just earlier when Laura had barely grazed the corner of her lips, she had wanted nothing more than to turn her head and catch the small girl's lips fully, to feel them against her own. Just at the thought of it, Carmilla could feel something roaring inside her chest. It wasn't so much an unpleasant feeling, but it was, without a doubt, terrifying.

 

She sighed, closed her eyes and clutched the bridge of her nose. She needed a distraction, something to help her regain some much needed control. It was when she opened her eyes again and caught sight of Elsie, the blonde bartender she'd flirted with a few days ago, that Carmilla knew exactly what kind of distraction would work a wonder. She made her way to the bar and grinned seductively when the blonde caught sight of her.

 

"Hi," Elsie greeted with a huge smile.

"Hey," Carmilla shot back, her voice low.

 

Elsie looked her up and down and it only made the brunette smile wider.

 

"What's up?" Elsie asked.

"Well... I was just thinking... you never did show me the muster drill. Now, it's not very safe for me to roam this ship without that sort of knowledge, wouldn't you say?" Carmilla explained, staring at the bartender intently.

 

Elsie's pupils widened and she licked her lips slightly.

 

"That's true. Very unsafe... I really should show you." the woman said slowly, a small grin forming on her lips.

 

The brunette grinned crookedly in response.

 

"I was hoping you'd say that."

 

It didn't take long after that before Carmilla found herself in Elsie's room being pressed against a small desk, the blonde's lips hot on her neck. It took an even shorter amount of time before she had pinned said blonde on her bed, their lips locked in a hungry kiss.

 

"What about your girlfriend?" Elsie asked, a hint of uncertainty in her eyes.

"Let me worry about her," Carmilla groaned before catching the other girl's lips once again.

 

She didn't want to think about Laura and, when she descended her lips to catch one of the bartender's nipple into her mouth, all thoughts of girlfriends seemed to evade Elsie's mind.

 

Still, as Carmilla kissed and licked, she could feel a lingering feeling of hesitation inside her heart. She ignored it though. This was about regaining control and she was willing to take all the time she needed until she had. It was only hours later that, completely exhausted, Carmilla realised before falling asleep that she wasn't sure she had regained anything at all.

 

***

 

Carmilla was woken the next morning by a ray of sunlight in her eyes. She groaned and moved a hand to her head, still feeling groggy from sleep. She blinked her eyes opened and frowned when she realised she wasn't in her stateroom. It took another few seconds for her to remember where she was exactly and remember that she'd passed out in Elsie's room the night before too exhausted to make it back to her own.

 

She looked around herself and saw that the bartender was nowhere to be seen. She frowned and searched to see if the woman had left a note. It wasn't that she cared exactly whether she found one or not, but she was still curious. She found one on the bedside table next to her.

 

_Had to work._

_Thanks for the night._

_You should find your girlfriend_

_before she goes looking for you._

_E xxx_

 

It was at that precise moment that Carmilla remembered Laura and the fact that the small girl was expecting her this morning. It was also at that precise moment that she realised that the light outside seemed much too bright for the early hours of the morning.

 

With a wave of dread hitting her hard in the chest, Carmilla looked frantically around herself until she found a clock on the wall.

 

 _11:21_ _a.m_

 

Her heart all but dropped out of its cavity.

 

"Fuck!" she shouted to herself catching her head between her hands.

 

She'd screwed up big time and had missed the excursion's departure. Carmilla shot out of bed and dressed quickly. She had no idea what she would do exactly, but she knew, without a doubt, that she had to find Laura. She could only hope that the small girl wouldn't kill her on sight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... There is no fun without a bit of angst, is there? :P 
> 
> Speaking of the next chapter, I'm going to try it get it to you somewhere in the next two weeks. Primarily because that was the intended schedule but also because I'm leaving on holiday on June 1st for two weeks! I absolutely want to get you the next chapter before I live since it'll be probably a while after before I post (I'm out of the country for 2 weeks and then I need to actually write the next next chapter!). 
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this one though! It's always a pleasure to read and converse with some of you!
> 
> You can find me on mmekeeklovescarmilla on tumblr and ask me anything you want. I also try to keep everyone updated on the writing process and updates via tumblr as well! Have a great Sunday!  
> MMxx


	10. Chapter 9: Every cloud had a silver lining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! I know this is later then I usually post, but here it is :-)  
> Now, don't forget that I'm going on vacation for the next two weeks! So expect a bit of a delay before the next chp is up! Thanks for the support and the understanding. You guys are amaziiiing!

**Chapter 9: Every cloud has a silver lining**

 

Once she was fully dressed, Carmilla came out of Elsie's room. She tried to look as relaxed and casual as possible, but the way her heart was hammering nervously inside her chest was making it slightly hard. She walked, hands in her pockets balled into fists, as she mentally chastised herself. She'd done many things in her life, many things others had deemed stupid or careless, things she herself hadn't really cared much about. This time though, Carmilla knew that she'd screwed up.

 

The excursion had been important to Laura. As much as Carmilla wasn't entirely sure what it was about it that made it so special, there was no doubt in her mind that it had been the one thing the small girl had been looking forward to the most. Carmilla could still see the flame of happiness that had burned in Laura's eyes when she'd agreed to go, she could still see the blinding smile on her lips. She could only imagine now how cold the other girl's eyes would be when she found her, how her lips would be turned to a grimace rather than a smile. It tugged at Carmilla's heart. Laura would be devastated, she knew she would.

 

A small part of her was hoping that the ship's crew had allowed Laura to go without her, but she knew it was unlikely. If they'd insisted so much on the excursion being an activity to be reserved in pairs then chances were they had refused Laura to go on her own. For once though, Carmilla hoped she was wrong.

 

She hadn't planned this. When she'd seen Elsie the night before and had decided to make a move on her, she hadn't planned passing out in the bartender's room and missing the excursion. She had only sought out a little distraction, not to hurt Laura. Yet, now Carmilla feared she'd done both.

 

There was little she could do about it however. She couldn't turn back the clock and erase her actions. The deed was done. She'd just have to apologize and hope that it was enough. But first, she needed to actually find Laura. Carmilla wasn't sure where to look for the small girl first, but she decided that their room had to be the best place to start.

 

When the brunette arrived on the floor of their room, she was oddly nervous. She wasn't accustomed to apologizing, she usually didn't bother. Apologies were messy and long and pointless. Too much grovelling, Carmilla had never been fond of the concept. Yet, this time, she would put up with the discomfort.

 

She frowned at herself and gritted her teeth. It hadn't even been 24 hours since she'd realised that she perhaps liked Laura better than she had always thought and she was already doing things she wouldn't have considered before. If this was how it was going to be from now on, Carmilla was in trouble.

 

The brunette needn't have worried though, because, when she opened the door of their room, Laura was nowhere to be found. Carmilla frowned and sighed, but closed the door again nonetheless and continued her search for the other woman.

 

Yes, she was most definitely in trouble. Not 24 hours and Carmilla just had to find Laura. It was odd, this _need_ to explain herself. It was odd and uncomfortable. She didn't like it one bit, yet, she couldn't stop herself. Carmilla walked and looked and the longer it took, the more she chastised herself for caring so much. A part of her was screaming at her to stop, to move on and do something meaningful with her day instead of chasing after the small girl. Still, another part of her was compelling her to keep looking. And even if everything Carmilla had ever been before went accordingly with the prior option, even if she knew that she'd see Laura for dinner at the latest anyway, that didn't stop her from continuing to roam around the ship.

 

It was almost noon and Carmilla had almost given up when she finally spotted the familiar shape of the small girl in the distance, walking inside one of the many bars on board. Her heart jumped in her throat and before she had time to really think, her body sprung forward to catch up with the other woman, her hand finding Laura's arm when she did.

 

"Hey," she said, almost choking when the girl spun around to face her and she saw her obviously red and puffy eyes.

 

It took half a second for Laura to recognize her, but when she did, her features immediately hardened and Carmilla gulped uncomfortably.

 

"Hey?" the girl said slowly. "Seriously?"

"Uh..."

"Okay, _seriously_?" Laura repeated, her voice getting a little higher.

"Laura... I-"

"Oh no you don't! Don't you _dare_ " _Laura_ " me! You don't get to do that! You don't get to come up to me with a crappy 'hey' and, for _once_ , call me by my name. You don't get to pretend that everything is normal! What the heck, Carmilla?!" she interrupted, fully angry now.

 

Carmilla was stunned for a few seconds. She had known that the small girl would be angry, but seeing it was something else entirely. She'd made Laura mad a fair few times in her life, but none of those times had ever felt quite like this. Carmilla wasn't sure if it was because she suddenly cared what Laura thought of her or if it was because the other girl's anger had never felt quite as deep as this, but either way, the result was the same and she felt like shit.

 

"Seriously, Carmilla," Laura continued, her cheeks red, her eyes flashing. "What is wrong with you? How can you just show up _hours_ late and act as if nothing is wrong!"

"I'm not!" the brunette defended. "If you'd just let me spea-"

"Do you know how long I waited for you this morning?!" Laura cut her off. "Do you have any idea?"

"Laura, I'm so-"

" _Don't_! How _long_ do you think, huh? Well I'll tell you! 2 hours! That's how long! I waited for you to show up for 2 hours, Carmilla! I waited for you and I thought, I _actually_ thought that you would, you know?!"

"I'm sorry!" Carmilla managed to say. "I'm so sorry, Laura! I didn't mean..." she trailed off.

 

She really was horribly bad at this apologizing thing. Laura looked at her with an unimpressed raised eyebrow and when it was clear that the brunette wasn't going to continue, she spoke instead.

 

"Didn't mean what? Didn't mean to stand me up? Didn't mean to make me wait? Didn't mean to make me look like a _complete_ idiot in front of the excursion crew and other participants?!" the small girl listed quickly.

 

With horror, Carmilla saw her eyes tear up.

 

"Because I _did_ , you know? I looked like an idiot whose girlfriend didn't even care enough about her to show up. And you know, I wouldn't even have cared if you had _eventually_ showed up! I wouldn't even have cared how late you were! But you didn't! You left me hanging, left me to fracking _beg_ the excursion people to let me go, left me to look like an even bigger idiot when they refused!"

 

A lone tear had fallen on the small girl's cheek now and she brushed it off quickly. Carmilla's heartstrings tugged painfully in her chest. She knew her brows were furrowed, her lips closed tightly. She didn't know what to say to Laura. What could she even say?

 

"And you know the worst part, Carm?" Laura continued, her voice breaking on the nickname. "I couldn't even believe you'd stood me up. You knew how important this was to me and I thought... " she cut herself off, wiping away another tear and sniffling.

 

Carmilla clenched her teeth as Laura made a gesture with her hand and half shrugged.

 

"I thought you couldn't have stood me up because we're friends now... I mean I _thought_ we were," the small girl eventually said, her eyes tearing up even more. "I was standing there and thinking 'of course she's going to be there, she's just late. She's super late, but she'll show up. We're friends now, she won't do that to me". And, like, I stood there and repeated to the staff several times that you would be. I _assured_ them that you would and they waited! They waited until they no longer could and I just stood there and... where the heck were you?" she demanded.

 

Carmilla opened her mouth to reply, but the answer died on her tongue.

 

"I'm sorry..."she repeated weakly, knowing that her words were far from satisfactory.

 

Laura frowned and shook her head. She looked so disappointed in that moment, so sad, that Carmilla found it hard to breathe.

 

"Look... I know I'm not the coolest person..." the small girl said slowly, blushing. "I know you've never really liked me and I'm sure spending another full day with me wasn't ideal for you, but... I just... if you didn't want to do the excursion, why did you agree to it? Why didn't you just say 'no'?"

"Laura don't say that..." Carmilla replied softly, her brows still scrunched together. "You're perfect. It is I who fucked up, okay? And I meant it when I said I'd go with you,"

"Then where were you?" Laura asked again, another tear escaping her eye. "Why didn't you show up?"

"I woke up late, I forgot to set my alarm and I-"

"Wait," Laura said confusedly. "How could you have slept in late? You were already gone when I woke up and I-" she interrupted herself suddenly.

 

Then, very slowly, her eyes dragged up and down Carmilla's form and something seemed to dawn on her.

 

"You never made it back to the room last night, did you? You're wearing the same clothes you were yesterday... Oh my god, I'm _such_ an idiot," the small girl groaned. "I thought you'd gotten up extra early, but you never even came back! Where the actual heck did you sleep?" she asked, staring at the brunette confusedly.

 

Carmilla gulped uncomfortably unsure of what to say. It was at that precise moment that- _of course_ \- Elsie walked into the room, seemingly heading to the bar with a large box in her hands. The brunette wasn't sure what she'd done to deserve this, but clearly her karma was a bitch. She hoped with all her might that Elsie would ignore her, but she wasn't that lucky. The blonde spotted her almost instantly and a sly grin appeared on her lips. She walked a bit closer without being too obvious.

 

"Hey Carm," the girl said in a low purr, her eyes dragging up and down the brunette's body languorously.

"Hey..." Carmilla replied with a tight lipped smile, slightly relieved when Elsie didn't add anything else and continued her way towards the bar.

 

Carmilla looked at her go and when she felt sure the girl wouldn't say anything else to her, she turned back towards Laura. The relief she'd felt at Elsie's brief greeting was short lived though when she saw the wave of comprehension wash over the small girl's face.

 

"Laura," she began to say nervously, but stopped when the girl shook her head in disbelief.

 

The sadness that had earlier filled the girl's eyes was gone now, replaced by a new surge of anger.

 

"Are you _serious_?!" Laura hissed, her eyes narrowed dangerously.

 

Carmilla opened her mouth to speak, but soon closed it. What could she say? She certainly couldn't deny what Laura had evidently deducted. To deny it would have been to think the small girl a fool and Carmilla most definitely didn't think that.

 

"You _missed_ the excursion because you spent the night shacked up with some _girl_?" Laura continued, looking completely stunned and clearly upset.

"Look, I-"

"Answer me, Carmilla," the small girl cut her off. "Did you spend the night in that girl's room?" she asked.

 

The brunette licked her lips nervously and avoided Laura's eyes as she nodded slowly. She heard the small girl huff and shake her head, but kept her eyes away. There was a wave of guilt hitting her lungs, tightening around her heart and Carmilla knew that if she looked at the other girl it would only get worse.

 

"I can't believe you!" Laura exclaimed, finally making Carmilla look at her. "I guess now I know where you go every night..." she trailed off.

"Laura, that's not-"

"You know what? Don't even tell me. I don't want to know..." the girl said.

 

In the distance, Elsie giggled with a co-worker, sending a sly look in Carmilla's direction. Laura closed her eyes and seethed silently.

 

"Do you even _care_ that we're supposed to pretend be together?" the small girl demanded in a low voice a moment later. "I know you don't give rat's bum about me, but I thought you'd care that if our real status is discovered, Laf and Perry will be billed with a big fine! Lafontaine is your _best friend_! Aren't you suppose to care about them at _least_?! Are you really so selfish you're incapable of caring about anything?!" Laura continued angrily.

 

The insult bit at Carmilla's insides. She clenched her teeth and willed for the hurt that had suddenly washed over her to go away.

 

"Of course, I _care_ ," she hissed back. "Look, I'm sorry I missed the excursion, I honestly am, but you don't need to worry about our cover being blown, okay? Elsie knows nothing."

 

Laura's anger faltered a little and her lips wobbled.

 

"Right..." she muttered sarcastically. "You're sorry you missed the excursion. You didn't mean it. You were just having a bit of fun, right?" she asked with a furrowed brow before shaking her head. "Not your fault if stupid little Laura is affected, right? Not your problem if you let me down, it's not like we're friends," she continued.

"Laura... we _are_ friends. I... you _know_ you were right about this, you have to." The brunette answered almost pleadingly.

 

Her heart faltered when the small girl shook her head in response.

 

"I don't know anything," Laura shot back with a shrug. "I certainly don't know _you_ , since I thought you'd show up so... We can't be friends. I... I just don't trust you anymore," she explained.

 

A shaky sigh escaped the brunette's lips. Laura looked at her for a moment before shaking her head again and turning around to leave

 

"Laura, please. Let me atone for my actions. I-" Carmilla said as the other girl started moving away.

"Don't bother," Laura cut her off.

"If you just let me-" she tried again only to interrupted.

"Go away Carmilla!" the small girl shouted angrily. "We're done..." she finished, her voice back to normal before turning around properly an walking off.

 

Carmilla looked at her go, her chest heavy, yet hollow. She clenched her teeth together and tried to push down the feeling of defeat, the feeling of scorching pain as she contemplated the possibility that she'd lost all the easy smiles and the easy laughter that had come with Laura's friendship. She shook her head and felt a surge of anger engulf her. She wanted to break something or yell at someone at the very least.

 

She didn't like feeling like this, feeling undeniably _hurt_ , yet she couldn't help it. She hated that the wounded look in Laura's eyes had only hurt her a little in comparison to the disappointment she'd found there too. She hated that she _cared_ , that she'd begun seeing Laura under a whole new light, yet the girl continued to see her as she always had... She couldn't exactly blame the small girl. Not after she _had_ let her down so thoroughly. Nevertheless, Carmilla could still hear Laura's words, could still feel the sting of it in her heart.

 

She couldn't trust her anymore? Was that really true? Carmilla frowned as she contemplated her options. She could let this go. She could forget she'd ever thought of Laura Hollis as more than Perry's annoying friend. She could forget the way her gaze and her laughter had made her heart flutter. She could forget that she had wanted to kiss her so badly only the day before. She could forget all of it, perhaps, if she wanted to.

 

Yet, a small fire of hope still burned inside her chest. What if she didn't want to forget? Maybe she could change Laura's mind. She was fairly sure that the small girl hadn't trusted her at all at the beginning of their trip and Carmilla had managed to change her mind then. Maybe she could do it again.

 

She bit her lip and sighed. She was a fool, perhaps, but she wasn't ready to give up. Not just yet.

 

***

 

Laura kept her pace fast and her head held high as she walked away from Carmilla. She didn't want the other girl to see just how upset she really was. The fact that she'd seen her cry was bad enough, Laura didn't need the brunette to see more of it. Yet, there was no denying that she was very affected. Her eyes were stinging with unshed tears, her heart with disappointment and sadness.

 

She'd meant every word she'd said to Carmilla. She really had waited for her for two hours that morning, feeling more and more desperate as the minutes went by. She'd been so certain at first that the brunette would show up. They'd had such a good time together the day before that Laura had genuinely started considering the girl to be a friend. Apparently it hadn't even taken 24 hours for Carmilla to shatter that image or at least leave a crack in it that Laura couldn't ignore.

 

She was hurt, she truly was. The excursion had meant a lot to her. She'd been looking forward to it so much. She'd imagined it all, imagined how it would feel like, imagined the things she'd see and learn. She'd even planned a part of her assignment that would include that day and now it was all for nothing. It had broken her heart to see the group leave without her. She had held her tears back until they had disappeared tough. They had already been looking at her with pity, Laura hadn't wanted to make matters worse.

 

She'd felt heartbroken, yes, but also humiliated. She had looked like such an idiot in front of the whole group. She'd looked like the kind of girl who had settled for an inconsiderate girlfriend, the kind of girl who didn't mind being treated like shit, not the kind of girl she was at all. It was embarrassing to say the least.

 

Both disappointment and embarrassment had only grown when Laura had learned the reason behind Carmilla's absence. She felt a rush of blood go to her cheeks as she recalled the way the blonde girl had walked up to Carmilla and greeted her. It had been obvious to Laura at that moment that the two women knew each other more intimately. Really, Laura wasn't sure why she'd even been surprised at all. It seemed like such a Carmilla thing to do. Or at least a Carmilla thing to do from what Laura knew of her pre-trip- the small girl wasn't so sure what to think anymore.

 

The brunette had shown at times, since the beginning of their cruise, a part of herself that was so much softer, so much more attentive and gentle than everything Laura had always known about her. The small girl would have lied if she said she hadn't been intrigued about it. Now though, Laura was no longer sure how she felt. Carmilla had let her down, that part was certain. She'd missed the excursion to sleep with a bartender and, although she'd seemed truly sorry about the excursion, she hadn't seemed the least bit sorry about that Elsie girl. It wasn't as if Carmilla was her _real_ girlfriend, Laura was aware of that. It wasn't as if she'd been cheated on her for real. Yet, as far as everyone on this ship was concerned, it was _exactly_ what had happened.

 

It felt to Laura like she could still hear the giggles of the bartender and she felt an uproar of embarrassment deep inside her stomach. It wasn't enough that she'd looked like an idiot in front of the excursion crew, now she'd also be known as the girl whose girlfriend was cheating. Fantastic.

 

Laura walked faster, tears springing more and more to her eyes. She'd never felt so ridiculous and betrayed before. All she could think about was how Elsie's eyes had travelled Carmilla's body and it made her feel nauseated.

 

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice when someone stopped in front of her and proceeded to unceremoniously ram right into them. She stumbled backwards in surprise and would have probably fell flat on her ass if a pair of hands hadn't caught her by the shoulders.

 

"Oh my God, sorry!" she exclaimed lifting her gaze to meet none other than Danny.

 

The girl was smiling brightly at her and for the first time since she'd known the tall redhead, Laura wanted nothing more than to disappear.

 

"Danny, Hi!" she wheezed, trying to put a smile on her face.

 

She had a feeling she'd failed spectacularly when Danny's smile faltered and her eyebrows scrunched in worry.

 

"Laura, are you okay?" she asked, her voice laced with tenderness and concern.

 

That alone made the small girl feel like crying even more.

 

"I'm great!" she exclaimed, feeling the tears finally leaving her eyes and fall onto her cheeks.

 

Danny looked even more worried as she moved a hand from Laura's shoulder to brush a tear away.

 

"Come with me..." she said softly, grabbing Laura's hand and dragging her somewhere.

 

The small girl followed dutifully, sniffling as they walked. Eventually, they stepped through a door and found themselves in an empty room.

 

"It's one of our break room," Danny explained before letting go of Laura's hand.

"Thanks," the girl answered, feeling automatically relieved that she wasn't crying in public anymore.

 

Danny nodded and didn't add anything for a few seconds.

 

"Laura...?" she asked softly, clearly uncertain. "Can I ask you what's wrong?"

 

The petite sighed heavily and licked her lips hesitantly. Truth was, she was shy to share her day with Danny. She barely knew the girl after all and she didn't want to bother her with her problems. On the other hand, she knew that sharing her feelings would make her feel better. Laura had actually considered calling Perry, but she knew it would be way too expensive.

 

"I... I don't want to bother you with it," she admitted, looking at the floor.

"Hey, don't worry about that!" Danny answered automatically, taking a cautious step towards the small girl. "You could never bother me, Laura," she added with a genuine smile.

 

Laura felt her heart thud warmly and a small watery smile formed on her lips.

 

"It's just... I was registered for this excursion... a day of discovering the Mayan culture, only, I had to go with Carmilla because they only accepted couple registration and well... she never showed up and they had to leave without me," she explained, her voice wobbly.

 

Danny's eyes widened and she shook her head.

 

"Wow... that's really shitty, I'm so sorry," she said softly.

"It's not your fault!" Laura exclaimed. "It's just... I was really looking forward to it. I love learning about other cultures and I've never been in Mexico and the Mayans seem _fascinating_! And I just... I knew that that sort of activity might not interest her so I asked her if she wanted to do it _specifically_ because I didn't want to force her... And she said it was okay! She didn't even argue or anything she just said yes and I thought... well I thought that _maybe_ she really wanted to go and I never even imagined that she'd just leave me there on my own and, gosh, it was so humiliating to stand there alone and wait for her forever and- and then I waited for nothing and I still missed the excursion and I just don't understand why she agreed to come so easily if she didn't really care to be there and..." Laura trailed off as more tears fell down her cheeks. "I just wish she hadn't built my hopes up so much if she didn't care..." she finished her rant very quietly.

 

Danny was full on frowning now, her jaw a bit clenched. It was obvious that she was angry.

 

"That's really not okay!" she said, shaking her head. "She shouldn't have gone back on her word and left you waiting! That's so unfair!"

"She didn't _mean_ to miss the excursion, but, well... she still did," Laura found herself defending Carmilla although she wasn't sure why.

 

Danny paused for a second before continuing.

 

"Oh so you've talked to her?" she inquired.

"Yeah," Laura nodded. "She says she's really sorry, but I just... I'm still upset you know?"

"Of course," Danny agreed. "Did she explain how she happened to _accidentally_ miss the excursion?"

"Yeah," the small girl scoffed angrily. "Not that _that_ makes it any better!"

"Oh?"

"I was already going to be embarrassed when I ran into someone from the excursion and Carm just made it worse!" Laura explained, her anger mounting. "I mean, how am I supposed to _face_ that stupid Elsie girl now?! She was already giggling and I just... It's going to be so horrible! God, she's not even _that_ pretty!" Laura complained pettily. "I mean, surely, Carmilla could have controlled herself, right?! You'd think she would have considered the impact it would have on _me_! But noooo! Not Carmilla Karnstein! Of course Carmilla just _had_ to sleep with the damn girl because she could!" Laura continued her rant.

 

She was so caught up in her speech that she barely noticed when Danny's eyes widened in shock.

 

"Oh my God, what?!" the redhead shouted, interrupting the other girl's ranting. "She _cheated_ on you?!"

 

That stopped Laura in her tracks. She gaped for a few seconds, her cheeks and ears growing hot instantly.

 

"I... I mean..." she mumbled awkwardly.

 

Laura had most definitely not meant to tell her. She'd been too caught up in her complaining and the words had slipped. The small girl felt like groaning. She was so useless sometimes.

 

Danny was looking at her with a mix of shock and rage and, as glad as Laura was that there was no pity in her gaze, she couldn't help but worry about the opinion that Danny would have of her now. She couldn't stand the idea that the tall gorgeous redhead would think of her as a pushover. Also, a small part of her- a very tiny part, she insisted- actually felt bad to make Carmilla pass as a cheater when, in fact, she had done no such thing. But what could she do now? She'd let the information that Carmilla had slept with Elsie slip. She couldn't retract it. It was done. There was nothing she could-

 

And idea came to Laura and she looked at Danny as she pondered her options. The girl was looking at her too, her gaze so open, her whole expression so genuinely sincere that it almost ached. She wasn't pushing her to continue, wasn't doing anything really expect wait for Laura to talk on her own terms. She was so considerate and nice... Maybe her idea wasn't so bad... Deep down, Laura knew that she shouldn't, but in that instant she didn't care. In that instant, she _wanted_ to go with that option. And after her fight with Carmilla, she didn't have the energy to deny herself.

 

"Actually Danny..." she began slowly. "Can you keep a secret?" she asked, her heart hammering in her chest.

"Of course," the redhead answered readily.

"I... it's _really_ important that you tell no one... I shouldn't even tell you really, but well... I trust you so..."

 

Laura paused for a second, hesitating one last time. Then, Danny gave her an encouraging smile and she felt herself relax.

 

"Carmilla and I aren't actually a couple," she admitted sheepishly.

 

If Danny had been surprised before, it was nothing compared to now. Her jaw slackened and she gaped at the small girl for a few seconds in total silence. She moved her lips to speak a few times, but nothing came out. It made Laura worry.

 

"Oh God, I shouldn't have said that..." she fretted nervously. "Look Danny, you can't tell anyone, _please_! They'd fine our friends if they knew... Probably throw us off the boat or something and-"

"Laura!" Danny interrupted as she finally found her voice again. "I'm not going to tell anyone, I promise," she provided automatically.

 

Laura sighed in relief.

 

"You aren't? Oh God thanks!"

"I promise," the redhead reiterated. "I'm just.. wow! I had no idea! You seemed... I mean Carmilla is quite... touchy..."

 

Laura felt herself blush profusely at the comment.

 

"That's just because she's a jerk," she said with an eye roll. "She knows I get uncomfortable and she just loves doing it..."

 

Danny nodded slowly.

 

"So you guys are like... friends? You decided to save money by pretending to be a couple?" she inquired.

 

Laura shook her head vehemently.

 

"No! The cruise was actually booked by our best friends for themselves. They're engaged to be married next year but Perry, that's my best friend, got a job promotion and they couldn't go. They gifted us the cruise. They actually hadn't even told us about the whole couple thing. It was a surprise, not a good one either. Carmilla and I... well... let's just say we've never really gotten along..."

 

Danny nodded again.

 

"Huh... Okay... wow!" she repeated slowly.

"So yeah..." Laura continued. "She didn't _cheat_ on me. She was totally allowed to sleep with someone else, not that we... I mean we've never-!" she clarified quickly, her heart thudding quickly and her cheeks flaming at the thought. "We've never even kissed. Like I said, not friends... But yeah... As far as everyone knows, except for you now, she _is_ my girlfriend and now I look like the kind of girl who let's herself be treated badly and gets cheated on and I... well I didn't want you to think that of me..." she finished with a blush.

 

Danny seemed to step out of her stupor slightly at those words and smiled softly.

 

"I wouldn't have thought of you poorly even if you _had_ ," she said. "Relationships are complicated and private. I wouldn't have judged you for forgiving your girlfriend whatever you felt was forgivable. If anything I'd have thought you even more amazing than I already do for-" Danny interrupted herself when she caught her words.

 

Laura couldn't help but smile brightly.

 

"You think I'm amazing?" she asked shyly.

 

Danny nodded just as equally shy.

 

"I don't know you very much, but... Well there's something about you... a lightness, an energy... You're just... pretty incredible," she explained, her cheeks red.

 

Laura was blushing as well, her teeth finding her bottom lip as she tried to control her smile.

 

"I think you're pretty incredible too..." she said.

 

Danny grinned, before shifting on her feet nervously.

 

"You know Laura... I uh... well if... if you're not dating Carmilla then I... Maybe we could, you know, have dinner sometime?" she asked, her face so red that it matched her hair. "I... well we can't really do it on the ship, but, well, I have some down time in three days and we'll be back in Fort Lauderdale to let off the one week travellers and we could maybe go to dinner then. If you want to, you know?" she offered.

 

Laura's eyes widened and her heart started to beat frantically inside her chest.

 

"You're asking me out?" she asked incredulous. "As in... a date?"

"Yes," Danny confirmed. "I'd very much like to take you on a date... If you want to that is."

"I want to!" Laura exclaimed automatically.

 

A bright smile of relief appeared on Danny's face and Laura could only match it with one of her own.

 

"Great!"

"Yeah!"

 

They stared at each other goofily before Danny eventually cleared her throat and chuckled shyly.

 

"I... I should get back to work," she admitted with an apologetic smile.

"Oh God of course! I'm so sorry, I've totally kept you!"

"No that's fine!" Danny assured.

"Okay," Laura smiled.

"You should go on shore," Danny suggested after she smiled back. "It's still fairly early and Costa Maya is gorgeous. Even if you've missed the excursion you could still do something else. Don't let Carmilla ruin your day."

"You're right," the small girl agreed. "Although, my day has already been fixed. Being asked on a date by a gorgeous woman sort of turns things around."

"Gorgeous?" Danny grinned. "That's pretty ballsy Hollis," she finished with a wink.

"Yeah! Ballsy! That's me!" Laura replied awkwardly.

 

The redhead chuckled in response.

 

"Okay, I really have to go, but I'll see you around?" she said.

"Yes of course! And we'll have to set a time for our date," Laura reminded.

"I wouldn't forget," Danny assured.

 

Then, she walked to the door and was gone after a small wave. The second she was left alone, Laura couldn't hold back the victory dance. Her day was really looking up.

 

***

 

Shortly after parting with Danny, Laura had decided to follow her advice and had left the ship to go on shore. She hadn't regretted the decision at all when she'd seen exactly just how beautiful Costa Maya was. The redhead had been right, with its endless white sand, tall palm trees and turquoise water, the place really looked like a piece of heaven.

 

Laura hadn't had time to wander too far, but the beach itself had plenty to keep her occupied. Between the basin where you could swim with dolphins and the various rental stations, it really was hard to be bored. The small girl had never especially dreamed of swimming with dolphins, but seeing others do it and seeing the magic in their eyes, she'd figured she might as well try it. Besides, it was a popular attraction and she knew she'd be able to include it in her article.

 

She hadn't regretted that decision either. The whole thing had been so much fun that even hours later, Laura was still smiling brightly. She had never imagined just how adorable dolphins could be and apparently something in her nature had made them really like her. They'd hang close to her as she giggled and even the trainer had been a bit impressed.

 

She'd spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach before it was time to get back on board. Her good mood had soured the minute she'd made her way to her room, her heart heavy at the thought that she would maybe see Carmilla again.

 

As much as she'd spent the rest of her day not dwelling on the fact that somewhere in the area a group of people were learning everything about the Mayan cultures and seeing ruins and meeting locals, she hadn't forgotten. She was still mad at Carmilla for making her miss it, still upset that she'd preferred sleeping around then make sure to be there in the morning. She was bitter, she knew she was, but she couldn't quite wash away the disappointment she still felt.

 

When Laura arrived to the room, she realised she'd worried for nothing. Carmilla wasn't there. By the time she had showered and changed, Laura expected the other girl to show up, but she didn't. It was with a sigh and the thought that, perhaps, Carmilla was avoiding her that the small girl left their room and headed for the second dance lesson of their trip.

 

As she walked, Laura couldn't help wondering about Carmilla. What if she _was_ avoiding her? Had she made the brunette so uncomfortable that now she couldn't stand being in the same room? Where was she? Had she gone back to Elsie, begging the bartender to let her stay in her room again?

 

Anger rose deep inside her chest at that last thought and Laura shook her head to rid herself of it. She didn't even know why it bothered her so much. Carmilla could be with whoever she wanted, it was none of her business. As long as she didn't make Laura look stupid in the process, the small girl _didn't care._

 

Laura kept repeating herself that as she made her way to their dance classroom. She half expected Carmilla not to show up. She'd already missed the excursion, what was to say she wouldn't miss this too?

 

She was proved wrong though when she walked into the room and saw the brunette standing alone, her arms crossed in front of her chest, sending wary looks at their classmates. Laura frowned and her eyebrows rose high in surprise when she saw that, not only was Carmilla already there, but she was wearing the ugly Hawaiian shorts she'd been stuck with after their last class' debacle. The small girl didn't want to smile, she was still upset, but the sight really was something. She bit her bottom lip to stop herself.

 

It took a few seconds for Carmilla to spot her and when she did, her annoyed expression disappeared instantly. She didn't smile though and instead looked a bit scared. Laura had to admit that she was quite satisfied.

 

"Hey," Carmilla greeted her uncertainly.

 

It was clear that she wasn't sure how Laura would react.

 

"Hey..." the small girl replied coldly. "What's with the shorts?"

"Huh?" Carmilla replied confusedly before shooting a look at herself. "Oh, yeah... the shorts they sell on board have exorbitant prices so..." she finished with a shrug.

 

Laura nodded and silence fell around them.

 

"Laura-" Carmilla began, but stopped when the small girl shook her head.

"Can we not do this right now?" she asked. "We've said everything this morning and I just don't think there's much else left to say."

 

Carmilla opened her mouth to answer, but had to stop when the teacher walked in.

 

"Bonjour bonjour!" he greeted with a stiff smile. "Do we have everyone? Yes? Good! Let's begin right away, shall we?"

 

He walked closer to the group and everyone gathered around him. Laura stiffened when she felt Carmilla step right next to her. Her heart sped up, but she ignored it as best she could and kept her gaze on the teacher.

 

"Now, let's see what we remember from last time. Everyone partner up and, remember, poitrine à poitrine!"

 

Carmilla turned to Laura and extended her hand. She rolled her eyes when the small girl hesitated.

 

"Jesus creampuff..." she mumbled with a sigh.

 

She brought her hand down and when Laura spotted the hurt in her eyes she stepped forward and grabbed her hand with an apologetic look.

 

Carmilla gave her a half smile and then placed her hand on her back. Laura gulped slowly and placed her other hand on the girl's shoulder. They stood like that for a second before the brunette sighed.

 

"You're still standing too far," she mumbled.

 

Laura shot her a murderous glare which only got worse when their teacher walked up to them and repeated the brunette's critique.

 

"Don't look so smug," the small girl grumbled. "I'm still mad at you."

"I can tell," Carmilla said with an eye roll. "Look, I-" she began, but was interrupted again, this time by Mr. DeLongpré.

 

"Good, good! Everyone will remember that last time we learned the basic box step. Now today we will move on to the inversed box step. Waltzing can be very redundant if always danced in the same direction. For this reason, dancers should be able to dance in both direction. The inversed box step is very simple, only the mirror image of the regular box step. We will therefore begin the class by practising the box step once again. Everyone begin, please."

 

The man finished his speech with a clap of his hands and Laura and Carmilla were left to look at each other again. If the small girl had hoped that Carmilla would forget what she was about to say before the interruption she was disappointed.

 

"What I was about to say was-"

"Just _don't_! I don't want to hear it," Laura whined, stepping closer to grab Carmilla's hand to begin their lesson.

 

She stopped though when the brunette took a step back.

 

"Can you just _listen_ to me for 5 seconds?!" Carmilla snapped angrily. "I get that you're mad at me, okay? But stop being a _child_ and _listen_!"

"This _child_ doesn't feel like listening!" Laura snapped back petulantly.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes again and groaned.

 

"I didn't mean... Look, I just want you to know that I am sorry," she said exasperatedly.

"You've said that already."

 

Carmilla raised her hands in the air and shook her head.

 

"I cannot win with you. You insist on being angry with me, yet you won't let me talk."

"I _did_ let you talk! I left you all the time this morning! You didn't have anything to say but _sorry_. Well excuse me _cutie_ ," she said sarcastically. "But sorry doesn't quite cut it."

 

Carmilla's expression softened at the small girl's words.

 

"I know, okay?" she said sincerely, taking a step closer.

 

Laura found it a bit hard to breathe. Carmilla was looking at her intently, their bodies closer than what the small girl felt comfortable with and, suddenly, she wasn't sure why she was so mad anymore.

 

"I know that my behaviour was appalling and that simply saying sorry is not enough. I _know_ , Laura, which is why I-"

"What's going on here?!" Mr. DeLongpré interrupted.

 

Carmilla looked beyond irritated, but quickly disguised her expression before turning towards the man with a sweet smile that felt very uncharacteristic.

 

"Pardonnez moi monsieur," she said then with a slight accent and Laura's eyes widened in shock. "Nous étions distraites, mais nous allons reprendre sur-le-champ."

 

Their teacher looked at the brunette with the same surprise Laura had bestowed her, but if the small girl had been mostly confused, he looked beyond pleased.

 

"Vous parlez français, mademoiselle?" he inquired.

"Oui, l'apprentissage du français à toujours été d'une grande importance pour Maman."

"Un sage femme!" the man said.

 

Whatever it meant, it made Carmilla chuckle slightly, although Laura wasn't sure if it was sincere.  

 

"Bon, je vous laisse continuer. Essayez d'être plus attentives. Keep practicing," he finished with a look at Laura.

 

Carmilla nodded at him before turning towards the small girl.

 

"Pompous French man. You speak one word and they're ready to fall at your feet," she said with an eye roll.

 

Laura continued to stare and after a few seconds, Carmilla grinned slyly.

 

"You okay there cupcake?" she asked smugly.

"Yeah, of course!" she replied a bit too fast. "I just... I didn't know you spoke French is all..." she finished, a blush covering her cheeks.

"And you liked it, didn't you?" she asked, her grin getting even wider.

 

Laura blushed harder and shook her head vehemently.

 

"I don't- _Anyway_ ," she said clearing her throat. "Shouldn't we be dancing?"

"Of course," Carmilla agreed.

 

Then, she stepped closer and Laura found herself in her arms. The small girl was half aware when they began to move, a second later. All she could think about was how _good_ Carmilla had sounded speaking French and how smug she'd been about it.

 

"What's got you so distracted, sweetheart?" Carmilla asked, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Nothing!" she squeaked.

"You sure about that?" she asked, her voice low and teasing.

"Yes, now stuff it and dance!"

"I am dancing. Really well, in fact. And so are you, by the way. For once you're actually close enough. If I had known that all it required for you to do so was for me to speak in French, I would have done it sooner..."

"Shut it!" Laura growled, her whole face red and hot.

 

Carmilla chuckled in response. Silence fell after that until the teacher spoke up again.

 

"Alright everyone, now, the inversed box step! Like I introduced earlier, it is the mirror image of the box step. So for the first 3 steps, leaders will move their right foot forward, with the heel remember, followers their left foot back. Then leaders will move their left foot to the side, stepping down with their toes and then close. Followers, will move their right foot to the side and close. The next 3 steps, leaders will move their left foot back, followers your right foot forward. Then leaders, right foot to the side and close. Followers, left foot to the side and close. Good? Alright, everyone together now..."

 

The whole class moved at once and followed the instructions. They danced in silence again for a moment and Laura was rather thankful. Of course, the silence didn't last and before long Carmilla was speaking up again.

 

"Laura..." she muttered, surprisingly modest. "Will you please let me atone for my actions this morning?" she asked. "I know that my apologies cannot be enough, so please let me do something for you to show my sincerity."

 

Laura hesitated a moment. It was hard to focus while she was dancing with Carmilla, so close to the other girl. A part of her wanted to agree with the girl's demands, a part of her was actually pretty curious to know what it was that the brunette had possibly planned to make up for the morning. Yet, another part of her was finding it hard to trust the other girl this readily. What if she was hurt again? What if this was all a game to Carmilla and Laura was about to fall right into it again?

 

"Why should I?" she said, stepping away.

 

Carmilla looked at her before licking her lips slowly.

 

"Why should I give you any time when you've always been so horrible to me? You've made fun of me more times than I can remember, you've ridiculed my dates, my hobbies, my clothes. You've never cared about anyone, if only maybe Lafontaine, but definitely not about me. How can I let you _atone_ when I can't even trust that you'd know how!" Laura asked a bit exasperatedly, silence falling after her words.

 

She regarded Carmilla fully then, ready to see what the girl possibly had to say in response. It took a few seconds for the brunette to speak, so much so that Laura thought for a moment that she wouldn't at all.

 

"You should let me try," she began. "Because I was wrong about you... You were right, I judged you too quickly and I was wrong. But judging goes both ways, cupcake, and, if you let me, perhaps you will find that you were wrong about me too," she finished, nothing but earnestness in her eyes.

 

Laura's heart thudded and she felt a flutter of hope inside her stomach. She was still afraid to trust Carmilla, still afraid that she'd end up disappointed and hurt again. In that instant though, standing in front of the brunette and looking into her eyes, Laura couldn't quite remember why she couldn't at least let her _try_ to prove her wrong. Maybe she'd regret it, maybe Carmilla would prove to be unworthy of her time, but she had to let her try regardless.

 

"Okay..." she said slowly. "What do I have to do?"

 

Carmilla smiled brightly and so fully that it took Laura's breath away. She wasn't sure what she'd agreed to, but in that moment, she didn't seem to care.

 


	11. Chapter 10: Actions speak louder than words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carmilla makes up for missing Laura's excursion. Laura is eager and has a hard time with surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take two!   
> Guys, I can't find enough words to thank you all for the love and support you've shown me and this story during the time it took me to update. When I left on holiday, I never ever imagined it would take me this long to come back and update, yet, all I ever got from you all is love and eagerness and support and I honestly feel like the luckiest gal for having such incredible readers. You guys never got angry, never got rude. I am so sorry that I made you wait this long! I'm glad that you haven't seem to lost faith in me though. And it's a good thing because here it is :-) Here is the update! I hope it doesn't disappoint!  
> Thank you a million times!!

**Chapter 10: Actions speak louder than words**

 

Laura woke up the next day feeling more nervous than she should have. It wasn't a conscious effort, honestly, but she couldn't seem to help it. When she had agreed to let Carmilla try to redeem herself the night before, the brunette had seemed happy and relieved. Then, when Laura had wanted to know what she had planned to do to make that happen, the other woman had smirked and shrugged and refused to tell her. They'd argued about it for the rest of their lesson, but Carmilla had been unyielding. Even throughout dinner, the brunette had kept silent and none of Laura's interviewing techniques had found themselves useful. By the end of dinner, the small girl had accepted that it was to be a surprise and when they'd reached the room, Carmilla had told her to be ready to head out the next day by no later than 8. She'd made to leave the room afterwards and perhaps she'd seen the way Laura's entire body had tensed in an instant, but she'd looked at the small girl with a sad expression before quietly muttering her name.

 

"Laura..." she'd said with a softness Laura still wasn't used to at all. “I won't make you wait for me another morning. I will be back later."

 

The small girl had nodded despite the doubt in her chest. Carmilla had looked at her seriously, her gaze steady, searching until she'd nodded herself. She'd looked at Laura a little while longer and it had felt to the small girl like Carmilla wanted to say something else. She hadn't in the end and had left without another word.

 

Laura had tried not to think about the fact that there were high chances that Carmilla had gone to meet Elsie, but she'd found it quite hard. She'd tried not to be bothered by it, but somehow that had been just as equally hard. She'd gone to bed with her worried heart and it wasn't that surprising therefore that she'd woken up with the same worry. It especially didn't help that although it had taken a while for Laura to fall asleep, she hadn't seen Carmilla come back.

 

Now, as she lay in bed, her eyes still closed, the small girl couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she'd been an idiot to give Carmilla another chance. What if she opened her eyes and she wasn't there? Laura knew she'd be disappointed. As much as she hadn't wanted to get her hopes up too much, she _was_ expecting the brunette to be there. She couldn't help it.

 

Laura sighed. Staying like this, in bed with her eyes closed, wouldn't help either. One way or the other, disappointed or not, there was only one way for her to find out and that meant opening her eyes.

 

She sighed again and slowly blinked her eyes opened. Her eyes fell instantly on the spot beside her and, when she found it empty, her stomach lurched uncomfortably. The feeling of disappointment hit her hard and fast, but it didn't last long because the second Laura turned her head and sat up in bed, she was met with an amused pair of brown eyes.

 

"Looking for something?" Carmilla teased her with a grin.

 

Laura shook her head and felt her cheeks colour for having judged the other girl too quickly. Still, she found herself smiling back at the brunette only a second later, the disappointment in her stomach fully replaced by excitement now.

 

"Better hurry up, Aurora," Carmilla called out to her as she dug out a few things from her luggage. "We don't want to lose any time today."

"Oh yeah?" Laura found herself asking. "And will you tell me why we need to be up so bright and early?"

 

Carmilla smirked, shook her head slowly and Laura couldn't help, but pout in response.

 

"Don't make that face creampuff," the brunette said with an eye roll. "You'll know soon enough."

"But I want to know now," Laura whined petulantly.

 

Carmilla's smirk softened for a moment before the girl shook her head again.

 

"Such a child..." she chastised gently while Laura pouted. "Now stop arguing and get ready."

 

Laura stuck her tongue out playfully and opened her mouth to reply. The words lost themselves on her tongue though when Carmilla casually ripped her t-shirt off and tossed it on the floor. Laura turned her head immediately, her face feeling hot and groaned when she heard the brunette chuckle and then the bathroom door close.

 

It was only when she was alone again in the room that Laura allowed herself to smile, only sparing a second to eye roll at Carmilla's messy luggage, her dirty clothes strewn everywhere.

 

"Idiot..." she muttered, surprising even herself by how much fondness she found in the insult.

 

****

 

Getting dressed was a quick affair once Laura had stopped questioning Carmilla about their plans of the day. Breakfast went by pretty much in the same fashion. Carmilla sipped her coffee silently in the way that was becoming vaguely familiar to Laura as she herself ate with appetite, her excitement mounting.

 

She was trying to be patient, she really was, but she'd never been really good with surprises. Also, the fact that their day had been planned by Carmilla was intriguing her beyond words. What had the other girl possibly planned? Laura knew that the ship was due to stop at the Mexican Island of Cozumel, but she had to admit that she didn't know much more. She'd made some research before embarking on the cruise, but that specific island hadn't exactly been on her priority list. Laura felt pretty certain that it would have some beautiful beaches, but apart from that, she really had no clue. It made the whole affair even more intriguing.

 

Laura's first bout of surprise came shortly after breakfast. After assuring her that she was dressed just fine for their plans of the day with her black shorts and striped, sleeveless button-up on top of her bathing suit, Carmilla led Laura out of the ship. The small girl followed obediently, but when Carmilla made a turn at the end of the dock and started walking to a different pier instead of walking further onto the island, Laura had to pause.

 

"Where the heck are you going?" she asked the other girl with raised eyebrows.

"Oh I thought I'd take you ship seeing," the brunette replied sarcastically. "Will you just follow and stop asking needless questions?"

"I thought this day was about apologizing for yesterday," Laura answered grumpily. "You'd think you'd be a little bit less mean to me..."

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

 

"Right... If you'd just stop _complaining_ or asking questions every five minutes, maybe I'd be more inclined to be charming," the brunette replied not bothering to look at Laura as she continued to walk.

"You, charming? I'll believe it when I see it!" the small girl shot back, slightly annoyed now.

"Careful what you wish for, cupcake," Carmilla teased with a smirk before making her way over to a specific boat.

 

Laura huffed, but followed without another comment. Her confusion increased tough when Carmilla walked to what seemed to be a waiting area and stopped behind a group of other people. Laura wanted to ask her a thousand questions, but she held her tongue. The brunette had already refused to answer her inquiries a fair few times and she actually seemed quite pleased about it. Laura was damned if she was going to give Carmilla the satisfaction of asking her one more time.

 

As time went on though it became increasingly hard for the small girl to stick to her sworn silence. It was especially hard since the other girl seemed completely at ease with not saying a single word to her. If Laura had a hard time just standing still, Carmilla looked perfectly fine contemplating her nails quietly. It was almost half an hour later when Laura finally cracked.

 

"Okay, seriously!?" she hissed to Carmilla, blushing slightly when she noticed a few of the people around them looking up at them.

 

Carmilla lazily quirked one of her eyebrow at her as if she'd just remembered that Laura was there at all. When the small girl didn't add anything else and continued to look at her expectantly, the brunette sighed and rolled her eyes.

 

"Problem?" she asked.

"Are you honestly not going to tell me anything?!" Laura shot back.

"I wasn't planning to, no," Carmilla answered with a shrug.

 

Laura's jaw clenched for a second before throwing her arms in the air in exasperation.

 

"Would it _kill_ you to actually engage in a conversation?! I mean, okay, you don't want to tell me what we're doing or where we're going, but you could _at least_ talk to me instead of ignoring my existence!" she spat angrily.

"Ignore your existence?" Carmilla repeated incredulously. "Jesus, cupcake. How very dramatic of you."

 

Laura glared at her in answer. She was about to open her mouth to answer when they heard a couple of two men chuckling not too far away.

 

"I hope there's no sofa in their stateroom or the dark one is definitely sleeping on it tonight," one of them muttered to the other.

 

Carmilla turned to glare at them as Laura smirked in satisfaction. When the brunette looked back at her, she gave her a smug look.

 

"You know... that's not a half bad suggestion," she said loudly enough to catch the guys' attention.

 

She saw Carmilla's jaw clench in annoyance, before a slow smirk formed on her lips. Laura instantly grew nervous.

 

"Come on, baby..." the brunette said huskily a second later, stepping towards Laura.

 

The small girl felt herself stiffen when Carmilla's fingers found her cheek and caressed her softly, pushing a lock of her hair back before descending and tracing her jaw and neckline. Laura gulped slowly, her eyes locked with Carmilla's.

 

"I did not mean to ignore you. You know this day is all about you, don't you?" she said softly, her fingers going up and down the small girl's neck as she spoke. "I'm keeping it a surprise because I know how your eyes will light up when you see where we're going. It is entirely selfish of me sweetheart I know, but you put the stars to shame when you smile in pure happiness and I could not resist the opportunity."

 

She stopped speaking and smiled crookedly.  Her fingers stopped their motion as Laura swallowed thickly and blinked a few times.

 

"I... I uh..." she mumbled feeling a bit dazed.

 

She couldn't quite stop staring at Carmilla and only came out of her reverie when she heard a chuckle. She turned her head and saw the same couple looking at them fondly now.

 

"Sorry," one of them spoke up. "We shouldn't be staring, but you guys are absolutely adorable!"

"Why, thank you," Carmilla replied smoothly, inching closer to Laura as she turned to look at the men. "We actually get that a lot," she continued, sending a wink at the one who had spoken.

 

The man chuckled good-humouredly and nodded.

 

"I'd imagine!" he replied happily.

"How long have you guys been  together?" his boyfriend asked eagerly.

 

Laura opened her mouth to answer, but Carmilla beat her to it.

 

"Not that long actually," she said.

 

The small girl turned to look at her with a slight frown and Carmilla gave her a smooth smile in return.

 

"We've known each other for a long time though," she continued, her eyes finding Laura's easily. "It's funny how sometimes there's something right in front of your eyes, but you cannot see it... and then when you do... blinding," she finished in a whisper.

 

 Laura's heart fluttered at the words and her cheeks flared. She stared for a long time, or at least what felt like such. Carmilla didn't break their eye contact either and moved only to bring one of her hand to rest against the small girl's waist. Vaguely, Laura heard someone mutter the word 'cute' in the distance and a part of her knew that it was probably one of the two men, but she couldn't care to look. Not with the way Carmilla was looking at her, not with the way she was tracing patterns with her thumb on her waist.

 

Then, they heard someone shout and the spell was broken. They looked away from each other to see men in uniforms waving at them to move towards the boat. They started walking and when Laura chanced a look at Carmilla subtly, she found her looking just as bored as she had been before the two men's interruption, her hands in her pockets. Laura sighed and shook her head. Damn, Carmilla really had a way with words. She had to be careful about that. With those intense dark eyes of her that drew you in so easily... Yeah, Laura had to be careful and remember that they were only pretending and that Carmilla didn't actually like her.  

 

***

 

The boat ride didn't last very long. As it turned out, it only brought them over to the other side of the water to what Laura had to assume was mainland Mexico. Her assumptions were proven correct when they disembarked the boat later and she saw a map of the area. Her heart thudded excitedly.

 

"Come on creampuff," Carmilla told her with a small smile when she stopped and stared in wonder around herself. "We're not quite there yet."

 

Laura followed dutifully, her trust in Carmilla suddenly growing. It quickly dropped though when she saw the brunette lead her to a scooter renting station. She didn't say anything at first, hoping that the other girl would turn and lead her somewhere else, but she didn't.

 

"Carm..." Laura said uncertainly when the girl began walking over to the counter. "Please tell me that we don't _have_ to rent one of those..."

 

Carmilla turned to her with a small smirk.

 

"Really, cupcake? You're afraid of scooters?" she teased with a scoff.

 

Laura blushed and held herself straighter.

 

" _No_ ," she answered adamantly. "I just... I mean... They're kind of like motorcycles... Slower, but still dangerous..."

"Dangerous?" the brunette sneered. "These things have engines only slightly more powerful than lawn mowers. We'll be fine." she finished with an eye roll before walking once more towards the counter.

 

Laura sped up until she was standing right next to her.

 

"Have you ever even driven one?" she asked hopefully.

 

Her heart faltered when Carmilla shrugged in response.

 

"Once or twice,"

"Once or twice?! That's it?!" Laura gasped, slightly alarmed.

"Oh please! Fourteen year-olds are allowed to drive those after taking a written test. I actually have a _real_ license. It'll be _fine_ ," Carmilla shot back with an eye roll.

"Yes but a car and a scooter are two very different th-"

"Goddamnit Hollis!" Carmilla interrupted. "Have you actually vowed to make this day as unpleasant for me as humanly possible? Because I swear, you're nearing perfection right now."

 

Laura opened her mouth to argue back, but nothing came. In all honesty, she hadn't expected Carmilla's angry outburst and she was slightly shocked. It must have showed on her face too because the brunette's own frown softened and she sighed tiredly.

 

"Look cupcake, will you just _trust_ me? For one measly day. That's all I'm asking. Trust me today and you may decide if you want to do it again tomorrow, alright? Does that seem acceptable to you?" she asked.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip nervously for a few seconds before relenting. Trusting Carmilla for one day? She could do that she guessed. Especially since she knew that the brunette basically meant to follow her without further complaining. So she nodded and Carmilla smiled before making her way over to the rental desk.

 

It was only a few minutes later that they were walking back outside both with helmets in their hands. With a casualness that was typically her, Carmilla put on her helmet and tied it as if it was nothing. A lot less smoothly, Laura put hers on and fumbled with the chinstrap. Carmilla grinned beside her before slinging closer.

 

"Come here," she muttered almost to herself as she brought her fingers to Laura's chinstrap.

 

She tied it delicately, her fingers brushing against Laura's chin as she did. It was only when she let go and gave the small girl a dashing smile that Laura realised she'd been holding her breath.

 

"There you go cupcake," Carmilla said. "All ready."

 

She continued to smile though so much that it felt a bit surreal.

 

"What?" Laura asked self-consciously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing to worry about, it's just that you look like a bobble head with that helmet on, is all," she said with a shrug.

"I do _not_!" retorted hotly.

"Relax sweetheart, it's not like it doesn't suit you just fine," she assured with a short laugh and a quick wink.

 

Then, she turned and sat on the scooter.

 

"Well?" she asked turning back to look at a heavily blushing Laura. "Are you coming?"

 

If it was even possible, Laura blushed harder, but walked over to the scooter nonetheless. She eyed it carefully before stepping on the foot pegs and settling herself behind the brunette. She looked for a place to hold herself and felt her heart give a hard thud when she found none.

 

"Are you ready sweetheart?" Carmilla asked, revving the engine to life.

"Uh... sure..." The small girl mumbled, settling the tip of her fingers on Carmilla's waist.

"Whoa there sunshine, getting handsy already?" the brunette teased sarcastically, yelping a little when Laura pinched her sides in response.

"Stuff it..." the small girl mumbled awkwardly, holding onto the other girl a bit more tightly.

"That's more like it," she thought she heard the girl say before they were off with a wheezing sound and a small squeak from herself.

 

***

 

If Laura hadn't been completely comfortable to ride with Carmilla before, her apprehension had slowly dissipated as time went by. She had been nervous at first, of course, and when Carmilla had taken her first sharp turn she'd found herself circling the other girl's waist tightly, not caring anymore about the proximity. If the brunette had minded, she hadn't said anything.

 

After a while, Laura's nervousness had settled and she'd realised that it was actually absolutely amazing to be riding like this on a scooter, the sun shining hard on the top of her shoulders and warming her back, the wind blowing on her face and coursing through her hair. They weren't going that fast, yet it felt to her like they were, but instead of unnerving her, it felt fantastic, a bit like they were floating. It was freeing.

 

The road itself was simple, just a patch of concrete surrounded by threes on both sides, but even so, it was amazing. It felt a bit magical to there alone with the other girl and the road like nothing else mattered. Laura had no idea where they were heading, but pressed against Carmilla's back, feeling her steady form in her arms, she didn't care. In this moment, Laura trusted her fully. She didn't want to ask questions, she didn't want to know. She just wanted to be there and let the brunette lead her anywhere.

 

They rode for a while like this, just soaking up the sun and not saying a word to each other. It had probably been slightly over half an hour when Laura noticed that the trees were thinning and then spotted a sign on the side of the road that made her heart thud and flare with hope.

 

_Tulum 500m_

 

Could this be where they were heading, Laura wondered sitting back straighter, her arms unwittingly tightening around Carmilla. She heard the girl chuckle in front of her, but didn't respond. She couldn't help herself though when, slightly further, Carmilla took a turn in the direction of a big sign announcing 'Tulum Ruinas'.

 

"Carm!" she squealed, her arms squeezing the other girl. "You're not serious?!"

"Easy there, creampuff," the brunette said through more chuckles. "Don't wind me before we're there."

 

Laura let go a little, but continued to stare and smile. If she hadn't been as stunned, she'd have probably bounced in her seat. They followed the road for a few minutes, each one feeling much longer to Laura. Soon enough though they were stopping right in front of the main gate of the Mayan ruins of Tulum.

 

Carmilla stopped the engine and before she had time to do anything else, Laura threw her arms around her neck from behind and hugged her tightly.

 

"Carmilla Karnstein, thank you thank you thank you!" She said in her ear.

 

For once, it felt to her like she'd rendered the brunette speechless if only for a moment because it took a second or two for Carmilla to answer.

 

"That's only the tip of the iceberg, cupcake," she eventually said.

"Really?!" Laura gasped as she let her go.

 

Carmilla turned around slowly and gave her a sly grin before nodding.

 

"But if you want to have time for everything, I suggest we get off this scooter and get started," she added after Laura had stared at her for just a few seconds too long.

"Oh my God, yes! Of course!" she said excitedly and hoped off the scooter eagerly.

 

Carmilla followed a second later, taking her helmet off and waiting as Laura did the same.

 

"I can't believe you took me here!" Laura exclaimed, her eyes wide with awe after Carmilla had managed to secure their helmets to the scooter and they were walking towards the tickets booth.

"I did ruin your Mayan experience in Costa Maya. It was only fair that I try to make up for that," the brunette replied with a shrug.

"Well this is going to be _awesome_! I honestly can't thank you enough!" the small girl said unabashedly making Carmilla shake her head slightly.

"You know, you might find it incredibly dull once we're inside..."

"No way!" Laura defended vehemently.

 

Carmilla laughed and continued to argue and at any other given time it might have annoyed Laura. Today though, the small girl couldn't find it in herself to get angry. She was far too excited for that. Besides, it was hard to get angry at the brunette when she was the reason they were in Tulum and when it was obvious that her arguing was only meant to be playful.

 

As she realised this, Laura wondered if she'd have felt as inclined to find the other girl's teasing funny a week ago. Sure, Carmilla and she weren't exactly friends. They still spent most of their time getting on each other's nerves, but Laura couldn't deny that their relationship had changed quite a bit since they'd began the cruise. And even if that shift was most likely due to them being forced to hang out for longer than they ever had before, it didn't change the fact that it had occurred.  

 

"No no, put that away, cupcake," Carmilla interrupted her thoughts as they walked to the ticket booth's desk and Laura pulled out her wallet.

"What?" the small girl said slightly taken aback.

"Today is on me," the brunette clarified, sending a quick smile and exchanging a few words in Spanish with the booth's attendant.

"You don't have to do that!" Laura shot back immediately, her cheeks colouring as Carmilla handed over some money.

"Thank you for that stupendous bout of information, sweetheart. Here I was thinking I was bound to pay for you by sacred oath..." the brunette muttered sarcastically.

 

Laura rolled her eyes at the gibe.

 

"Why do you always have to ruin every polite interaction we have with your wise guy comments?" she complained.

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes and ignored the comment, reaching over the desk to grab earphones and what looked like an old phone on a lanyard.

 

"I don't believe in these fill-in conversations, even for the sake of politeness," the brunette explained, taking a step towards Laura and putting the phone around her head. "They're futile and counterproductive."

"You know that actually explains a lot," the small girl said out loud, making the other girl smirk. "Anyway, thank you, _again_. And because _I_ actually like to be polite, I’m going to say it again. You really didn't have to pay for me. So thanks for that."

 

Carmilla’s expression softened finally and she nodded.

 

“It’s my pleasure, cupcake,” she said softly, her intense gaze locked with Laura’s.

 

The small girl swallowed nervously, allowing the silence to engulf them for a few seconds, before shaking herself out of her daze.

 

“Anyway, what’s this?” she asked, pointing at the phone around her neck.

 

Slowly, Carmilla’s eyes left hers and looked down for a moment.

 

“Oh, that’s an audio tour of the place. I figured a guide might be a bit too long, but with this, you’ll still get to hear various information about the place. As a journalist, I thought you might like that.”

 

Laura stared at the other girl for a few seconds. Suddenly, the phone felt heavier around her neck, like it was a lot more important than it had been a moment ago.

 

“Cupcake?” Carmilla asked her with a raised eyebrow after a while without any answer from Laura.

“Sorry,” the girl said with a blush. “I’m just… I can’t believe how well you seem to know me sometimes.”

 

Carmilla smirked in response.

 

“Well, I _have_ been forced to hang around you for 6 years,” she teased.

“Yes and you always did such a wonderful job at not annoying me,” Laura shot back sarcastically with an eye roll.

“That does not mean I know you any less. You must realise that the art of vexation can only be mastered through thorough knowledge.”

“Well I’m glad you’ve finally decided to use your talents for good instead of evil.”

“There was no such decision,” Carmilla assured with a fake expression of disgust. “I am simply groveling,” she added with a smirk.

 

Laura couldn’t help a smirk of her own from forming on her lips.

 

“Keep groveling, then,” she shot back before finally turning and making her way over towards the park, Carmilla following behind with a light chuckle.

 

*** 

 

The rest of the morning went by ridiculously fast as far as Laura was concerned. The ruins of Tulum where some of the largest, most well conserved coastal ruins in the world and they were _outstanding._ When Laura had first glimpsed the towering structures, she had felt like crying. Her throat had squeezed uncomfortably and her eyes had welled-up automatically. She’d been instantly thrown by the complexity of the architecture, amazed by these vestiges of the Mayan culture and civilization. To be standing there, to look at such an incredible display of human history, it had moved Laura beyond words.

 

She’d been a bit embarrassed by her reaction and had tried to hide her teary eyes from Carmilla, but to the other girl’s credit she’d made no comment at all. She’d stood beside Laura, her eyes glued to the ruins and she’d looked riveted. For some reason, it had warmed Laura’s heart to see her so obviously engrossed. So much so that she’d felt herself instinctively reach out for the brunette’s hand and had laced their fingers together. Carmilla had looked at her curiously as she did, but she hadn’t commented nor had she removed her hand from the small girl’s grasp.

 

That’s how they had proceeded to walk around the ruins. With the audio guide’s earphones firmly on her ears, Laura had walked them around the place, unable to stop herself from repeating to Carmilla the facts she found particularly impressive. Of course, that mostly meant that Laura had spent a good portion of their visit talking endlessly. If Carmilla had minded though, she hadn’t said so. To the small girl’s surprise, she’d even translated a few additional facts for Laura when they’d walked behind an official guide speaking in quick Spanish for a few minutes.  

 

So, yeah, their morning had went by incredibly quickly, but as Laura walked out of the ruins’ site with Carmilla, she had to admit that she was pretty excited to discover what the other girl had in store for her next.

 

“Where to now?” Laura asked excitedly once they were back in the parking lot.

“Well right now, it’s back on the scooter,” Carmilla answered casually as she grabbed the helmets.

“Yeah okay, scooter,” Laura repeated slowly. “And then…?” she asked hopefully, knowing instantly that her question wouldn’t be answered when she saw the mischievous smile on the brunette’s face.

“Nice try,” the girl drawled, her helmet on her head, the chinstrap still untied as she mounted the scooter. “Just get on, creampuff. You’ll know soon enough.”

 

Laura rolled her eyes, but did as she was told.

 

***

 

This time around, Laura was able to enjoy the scooter ride from the beginning. She’d sat behind Carmilla, her arms wrapping around the girl’s waist automatically and hadn’t even blinked when the other girl had shot the scooter forward a bit faster than the first time around.

 

They’d driven back on the same road they’d arrived on and if Carmilla seemed to know where she was going, Laura had absolutely no idea. Were they going back on board? Were they crossing towards the island of Cozumel? Were they staying on the mainland? She had absolutely no clue.  

 

Laura still had no clue when Carmilla passed the port where they’d disembarked the ferry and continued. It was killing her to stay still and ignore the burning questions on her tongue. She wanted nothing more than to poke the other girl’s ribs and bombard her with questions. She was curious, she knew that, but she couldn’t help it. She’d never been really good with surprises.

 

Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long. It was only a few minutes after the port that Carmilla slowed down and turned towards a huge parking lot. Laura could barely hold her excitement as she tried to stretch her torso higher in an attempt to see the name of the place they would be visiting. She shouldn’t have bothered as it was because after only a few seconds, a big stone gate came into view and in front of it carved in the stone was the word Xcaret.

 

Laura prided herself in her researching skills, but she had to admit, Carmilla had caught her off guard here. If she’d heard the name somewhere before, Laura still had no real knowledge of what the place was.

 

The small girl was still deep in her thoughts when Carmilla stopped the scooter. So much so that Laura didn’t notice they’d stopped at all until the brunette turned around with her eyebrows scrunched together.

 

“You alright creampuff?” she asked.

“Oh, uh, yeah!” Laura answered quickly, jerking herself out of her thoughts and moving to step off of the scooter.

“Are you quite certain?” Carmilla pressed, looking utterly unconvinced.

“Yes!” the small girl said automatically, sighing when Carmilla continued to look at her funnily. “It’s just… I’m trying to remember what this place is exactly and I just… I don’t know!” she admitted, her cheeks flushing red.

 

She was surprised though when instead of looking smug at her admission, Carmilla looked as equally shy.

 

“It’s a park, well, I think the official appellation of the place is an eco-archeological park… To be honest, I’m hoping that it _is_ an accurate description and that it will not just be one of those insipid places built only to amuse imbecilic tourists. There seemed to have a few activities that would appeal to you, but if it turns out to be a marvelous deception we can leave. I’m sure the area could offer other activities and I-” Carmilla rambled absent mindedly before Laura grabbed one of her hand, effectively interrupting her.

“I’m sure it’s going to be great,” she said with a soft smile, wanting to reassure the other girl.

 

Instead of reassuring the brunette though, it seemed like Laura’s words had made her realise just how much she’d sounded like she cared. As if she’d been burned, Carmilla took her hand out of the small girl’s grasp and Laura saw her jaw tighten.

 

“Yes, well, _of course_ , being the dork that you are, if it’s lame, you’ll most likely love it so… it should indeed be _fine_ ,” she taunted haughtily.

 

On any other day, Laura might have been insulted, but today, she simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. Maybe she really was getting used to Carmilla and her temper, because it seemed obvious to her that the brunette had simply snapped to hide the fact that she’d genuinely been nervous about Laura’s reaction to the place. It was only when she realised that she was smiling fondly at the thought that Laura shook herself out of it, her cheeks tinted red, and declared that the only way to find out would be to go in instead of chatting in the parking lot. Carmilla quickly agreed and together they walked to the ticket booth.

 

Again, the brunette paid for their entrance, refusing vehemently that Laura help pay for at least hers. In fact, they argued about it for several minutes before Carmilla lost patience.

 

“Seriously cupcake, if you say one more word about this, I will shove you off the ferry before we ever reach the cruise ship again,” she snapped angrily.

“Why do you always have to be so grumpy? I just want to contribute!” Laura complained, following behind the other girl who was walking inside.

“Maybe because I find it difficult to put up with your ridiculous need to argue over _every single little thing_!”

“I am _not_ doing that!” Laura said with a frown.

“Oh no Carmilla, you can’t pay for everything! Please Carmilla, let me at least pay for this,” the brunette mimicked in an exaggerated high voice. “I swear this is like spending the day with an overtly squeaky parrot!” she grumbled.

“Now you’re just being mean…” Laura mumbled in a small voice.

 

She hadn’t wanted to let Carmilla’s foul attitude get to her, but she hadn’t been able to help it. The brunette noticed it right away and let a heavy sigh leave her lips as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

 

“Laura…” she said softly. “It’s just… I’m groveling, remember? And perhaps my methods are a bit… archaic for you… But proper absolution for me comes at a price, in this instance, quite literally.”

 

The small girl chewed on her bottom lip as she considered Carmilla’s words. The hesitation seemed to encourage the girl to continue.

 

“Just say thank you and indulge in the luxuries I’m bestowing upon you. That’s all the contribution I require from you.” The brunette assured.

 

Laura raised her gaze to meet Carmilla’s. She looked straight into the dark eyes, unblinking, trying to find a hint of falseness, a hint that Carmilla didn’t mean what she’d just said. All Laura found though was sincerity in the other girl’s open stare. It eased her heart and made it flutter all at once.

 

“Thanks…” she muttered sheepishly. “I guess I’ve just never been treated to so much before…” she admitted as an afterthought.

 

Carmilla smirked and rolled her eyes in response.

 

“I have been telling you for years that your taste in woman is appalling,” she drawled, chuckling lightly when Laura pushed her shoulder with an indignant yelp.

 

Without another word, Laura walked confidently inside the park, Carmilla following closely behind.

 

“So what are we supposed to do?” the small girl inquired once they were inside the gates.

 

The park looked huge. There were trees everywhere and paths and signs. There were buildings in the distance, people walking around, children running and laughing. There was a big map of the place in front of them and when Laura glanced at it, she was a little bit overwhelmed. There seemed to be so many things they could do, so many activities to partake in. Laura had no idea what to do first. Actually, she had no idea what there was to do exactly so it made it even harder for her to choose.

 

Of course, Laura was quickly realising that Carmilla could be a very careful planner because she’d barely glanced at the map before turning in a direction and walking away.

 

“You know…” the small girl said as she trailed quickly behind the other girl. “We’re _in_ the park now. Your surprise is pretty much done. You could tell me where we’re going.”

“I could,” Carmilla acknowledged without adding anything else.

 

Laura sighed loudly next to her.

 

“You’re really awful with surprises, aren’t you?” the brunette teased her with a smirk.

“I just like to be prepared! Is that so wrong?” Laura argued.

“Except, you don’t really need any preparation for this,” Carmilla countered.

“Mental preparation is just as important!” She replied, making the other girl snort.

“Sure it is. Now come on before we miss it.”

“Miss _what_?” Laura whined, following nonetheless.

 

They walked in silence after that for what seemed like hours to the small girl. There was so much stuff going on around them that she could barely keep her eyes straight. Twice, she almost fell over and once she walked into a lamp post. By the time they’d finally seemingly arrived at their destination, Laura had one big bruise on her elbow and Carmilla looked exasperated with her. They didn’t have time to address a word to each other though before they were greeted by a smiling man with dark hair and dimples.

 

“Hello!” he said happily. “Are you here for the Temascal?”

“Yes. This one here will be participating,” Carmilla answered, pointing at the small girl with her head.

“What?” Laura asked confusedly. “What am I doing and why are you not coming with?”

“The Temascal, cupcake, it’s a traditional ritual, is it not?” the brunette replied looking at the man.

“Yes yes!” he answered with a smile. “The Temascal is a ritual dating from the pre-Hispanic era. It is a ceremony that allows you to reconnect with nature by uniting the 4 elements. It will also make you reach a state of mental and physical relaxation. Very very good for you. Very old tradition.”

 

Laura stared in awe, her heart speeding up in excitement. She absolutely wanted to participate in an old traditional ritual. This was exactly the kind of activities she’d always wanted to participate in.  

 

“And I’m not coming because it just so happens to take place partly in there,” Carmilla added softly, pointing at a small hut built a few feet above the ground.

“Oh,” Laura answered, finally understanding.

 

Even from the distance, she could tell that the hut wasn’t exactly big. There was no way Carmilla would feel alright going in there.

 

“I don’t have to go…” Laura offered the moment she realised.

 

She wanted to go, she really did, but she didn’t want to leave the other girl on her own. It didn’t seem fair no matter how much Laura wanted to experience this piece of Mayan culture.

 

“Of course you do,” Carmilla replied smoothly. “You clearly are dying to and, besides, I’ve already paid the extra fee for this.”

“You paid an extra?!”

“God don’t start on this again,” the brunette said with an eye roll. “Just enjoy it, sweetheart. Unless I’m mistaken and that’s not the kind of activity that interests you…”

 “It is!” Laura assured.

“Then go.”

“But what about you?”

“I can take care of myself you know,” Carmilla teased.

“I _know_ but… Are you sure?” Laura asked, feeling her uncertainty start to dwindle.

“For someone who vehemently insisted only yesterday that I was no friend of hers, you sure seem to care a whole lot about my happiness, creampuff,” the brunette said with a sly smirk.

 

Laura rolled her eyes, but also bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling.

 

“It’s just politeness. Don’t start getting ideas, Karnstein,” she replied her head held high.

 

Carmilla’s smirk widened and she nodded.

 

“I’ll be sure to remember that. Now _go_ before you miss the ceremony.”

 

Laura nodded and finally moved along the path to reach another hut in the distance where the ritual would most likely begin. She reached it quickly, but before disappearing inside, she turned around and saw Carmilla looking at her with a small smile, hands in her pockets. Laura raised a hand, sent the other girl a little wave and then walked inside the hut, her heart fluttering furiously.

 

****

 

The next hour was one of the most special and relaxing experience of Laura’s life. After the welcoming message of about 10 minutes and after removing her clothes so that she was in her bathing suit, Laura and the rest of the group had been directed outside. They had climbed a set of stairs and had reached the higher huts where the first part of the ceremony had begun.

 

First, men in ceremonial clothes had greeted them and placed them in circle around a fire. They’d spoken a few short words that Laura had understood none of before starting some traditional chanting. The men had moved in calculated steps around the fire, rattles in their hands as they chanted the proper hymns. Laura had been completely entranced by the ritual, only feeling even more special when the master of ceremony had waved them over one by one to pour water over their heads with a gourd called a huaje.

 

After that, Laura and the other participants had been led a small round hut made of cement and volcanic rock and it was then that the small girl had learned that _that_ was a ‘Temascal’ and that it was a kind of sweat lodge. Surrounded by thick smoke smelling of various herbs, they’d stayed inside the hut for approximately 25 minutes. A few participants had found the experience stifling and uncomfortable, but Laura had been so focused on herself and on her breathing that she’d barely noticed the time go by. Of course, she wasn’t immune to its effects and she _had_ found the air extremely hot and dry and even a bit suffocating, but she’d soon found herself closing her eyes and repeating the lines of the chant she’d memorized from earlier and any feeling of unease had dissipated .

 

After the Temascal, they’d been led to a pool of river water and they’d bathed and relaxed for another 15 minutes.  After so much silence and so many new sensations, it was only normal that Laura felt completely elated, her heart jumping violently in her ribcage, when she stepped out of the pool and left the ritual’s area afterwards and saw Carmilla standing at the entrance, waiting for her. It was probably also because of that that an urge to run and hug the brunette flared inside her chest at the sight. She pushed it down though and settled for a bright grin instead.

 

“Hi!” she greeted as soon as she was close enough.

“Had fun cupcake?” the other girl inquired, a very small smile on her own lips.

“I…” Laura tried to answer, but shook her head.

 

She couldn’t find the words to describe just how much she’d appreciated the experience. So far, her day had been absolutely amazing and it was all because of Carmilla. Carmilla who had disappointed her so badly the day before, but Carmilla who had in almost the same breath managed to plan what was quickly becoming one of the most special day of her life. It was hard enough to find the right words to thank a girlfriend or a friend when they did something amazing for you, how was she supposed to thank someone who was technically neither? She simply couldn’t so instead she reached a hand forward and grabbed one of Carmilla’s. She squeezed the girl’s fingers between her own and fixed their gaze together, trying to convey every single emotion she was feeling. For half a second she worried that Carmilla wouldn’t understand, but when the other girl smirked softly at her and squeezed her hand back, her worries disappeared.

 

“Good,” the brunette said, answering Laura’s silent thank you. “Now we can move on to the next part.”

 

The small girl shook her head in disbelief, but when Carmilla pulled on her hand and started to lead her elsewhere, she followed without uttering a single word. It was only a few seconds later that she realised that on top of not arguing with the other girl, she had also not let go of her hand. Somehow, it didn’t bother her.

 

****

 

A few hours later, they were back on the ferry and Laura could not believe the day she’d had. After the ruins of Tulum and the ritual, the small girl hadn’t thought it possible for Carmilla to have planned anything nearly as amazing as that had been. She’d been totally wrong though.

 

After the Temascal, the other woman had led her to a place where they’d been told they were about to enter underground rivers. Laura had been worried at first about Carmilla, because ‘underground’ sounded like something that ought to be pretty confined, but the brunette had quickly assured her that the rivers would be big and wide enough for her to feel fine. Laura hadn’t wanted to argue and so she hadn’t, a fact that Carmilla had immediately noticed and teased her with for the best of the next hour. Laura hadn’t cared though, not when they’d started their trek, water coming up to their hips, wide and spectacular pathways under the earth in front of them. Besides, it had been hard to take Carmilla seriously with the bright orange helmet she had had to wear for the excursion.

 

They’d walked for a long while, patches of sun sometimes coming through from holes in the cavern’s ceiling, vines descending through these same holes covering the rock. The water had been ridiculously clear and the stalagmites and stalactites indescribably impressive. Laura had gushed and awed and pointed and Carmilla had smirked and chuckled in response.

 

If Laura had thought that that _had_ to be the end of their day, she’d been wrong yet again for they’d come out of the underground rivers to enter an actual reconstructed Mayan village. They’d been given towels and traditional dresses, Laura even receiving a bright flower from a sweet blushing boy that she’d placed in her hair instantly.

 

They’d walked around the village, been explained more things about the Mayan culture than Laura could have dreamed of and when the day had started to fade away, they’d been sat next to an enormous fire in the centre of the village and fed some traditional meals. Laura had reveled in the flavours and textures, gushing to Carmilla every few seconds. They’d drank some of the local wine and by the end of dinner, Laura’s cheeks had been warm and red and her smile had felt infinite.

 

After dinner, colourfully costumed people had emerged from nearby huts, some carrying drums and some not. They’d sat in a large circle around the fire and had quickly began playing some dynamic rhythm to which those with no instruments had begun dancing. They’d moved and chanted and danced and laughed and Laura had looked at them with bright eyes and an envious heart. Perhaps it was for that reason that the same small boy who had handed her the flower had gone to find her again and had led her inside the circle to join those who were dancing. The small girl had been incredibly shy at first but with the help and prodding from her new friend she’d soon found herself joining in the dancing and the laughter. Other tourists had joined the circle eventually and it was only a few minutes after that that Laura had chanced a look in Carmilla’s direction.

 

She’d found her sitting exactly where she’d left her, her hands behind herself supporting her weight, a relaxed smile on her lips. As if sensing Laura’s gaze on her, the brunette had met her eyes and they’d looked at each other like that from across the fire for several seconds before Laura’s dance partner had demanded her attention again. The small girl had turned to him, but not without remembering with red cheeks and a dizzy head how good Carmilla’s features had looked bathed in the fire’s light.

 

Laura had continued dancing after that, sometimes looking to see if Carmilla was doing alright since the brunette had stayed seated on her own throughout the evening. She’d seemed to discuss amiably with an old woman at one point, though, a fact that Laura had found both surprising and endearing.

 

Eventually, as perfect as the evening was setting out to be, both girls had had to leave if they didn’t want their ship to sail without them.  

 

As exhausted as Laura was now of the day she’d had, she couldn’t say she regretted any of it. She felt happier than she could remember feeling in a long time, a sense of perfect calm and lingering excitement coursing through her body as she walked on the ferry’s main deck.

 

They’d boarded just a few minutes ago and she’d separated from Carmilla in order to explore the ferry. It was only a few minutes into her exploring though that Laura realised that she actually didn’t want to part from the other girl. The day had been overwhelming in the best of ways and she simply didn’t want to bask in the enjoyment of it alone. Especially not when her enjoyment was so linked with the brunette.

 

Before parting, Carmilla had informed Laura that she would be able to find her outside so the small girl headed towards the main deck’s outdoor area. She frowned a little when she didn’t see the brunette anywhere, but continued to walk around the tables and soon found a little pathway leading to the side of the ship. Knowing Carmilla, Laura had no doubt that if there was anywhere she was likely to find the girl, it was as far away from the crowd as possible. It was no surprise then really when, just a few seconds later, she found the brunette sitting alone on a bench in the distance, looking thoughtful.

 

 

“Hey,” Laura greeted simply as she reached the girl and sat beside her, her hands in her pockets.

 

Carmilla looked at her curiously for a second before looking back in front of her.

 

“That was a short exploration,” she commented.

 

Laura felt herself blush, but held her head high as she shrugged.

 

“Yeah, well… I didn’t feel like being alone and you’re the only one I know, so…”

“You honour me, cupcake,” Carmilla shot back with a smirk.

 

Laura bit her bottom lip, but chuckled regardless. They stayed silent for some time after that and for once the small girl was completely okay with it. She didn’t know if it was because of the day they’d just spend, but she felt comfortable with Carmilla beside her. The restlessness she’d felt when she was exploring the ferry had completely vanished now. She felt at peace.

 

“Thank you for today,” she said eventually, her eyes trained in front of her.

“Of course,” Carmilla replied simply.

“No,” Laura said, frowning a little. “I really mean it. This isn’t a casual thank you, okay? I… I didn’t think anyone could do something so nice for me. This day was perfect Carm. Everything, the scooter- once I got past the initial worry- the ruins, the park, the ritual, the dancing… You…”

“Did you just call me perfect?” Carmilla asked with a smug grin.

 

Laura laughed and elbowed her gently.

 

“Don’t make fun of my gratitude!” she joked. “I just meant that you weren’t, you know, _horrible_ today. It’s rare so it was appreciated,” Laura continued to tease, making Carmilla chuckle again.

“Only rarities can be truly appreciated,” the brunette mused.

“Of course,” the small girl said with an amused eye roll. “But seriously though. I really am grateful. Everything was so carefully planned and I know you did it all last minute and it must have been incredibly complex to do and, well, I just really need to thank you. It feels like you planned _my_ perfect day and, of course, I realise you must have had some interest in the activities and all, I mean, I know you didn’t do it just for me but-”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Carmilla interrupted her with a little shake of her head. “Of course, I did it for you.”

 

Laura waited for a beat or two for the other girl to add something, a joke or an insult or _something_ , but when nothing came, she felt her eyes widen a little. Carmilla was looking at her seriously, her gaze unreadable. Laura felt herself blush and her heart flutter at the other girl’s words. She knew the day had been centered around her interests and she knew that Carmilla had planned it to make up for missing the Mayan experience, but Laura still hadn’t sincerely believed that she’d done it solely for her. Now that she was saying so though, the small girl wasn’t sure what to say or what to think.

 

“Oh,” she replied dumbly. “Well then…”

“Yeah,” Carmilla muttered softly, turning her gaze back to the water.

 

Laura let the silence engulf them for a few seconds before finding her bearings enough to finally say something smarter.

 

“I was wrong,” she said shyly.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little bit more specific than that, cupcake,” Carmilla teased with a smirk.

“God knows how it actually happened, but… We _are_ friends, aren’t we?” Laura continued, ignoring Carmilla’s slight comment.

“Does that mean that you trust me?” the brunette asked then, looking serious.

 

Laura hesitated for a second before answering. Did she trust Carmilla?

 

“Yes,” she found herself saying before she’d even realised that she was speaking at all.

 

Carmilla smiled softly at her answer and nodded.

 

“Then we are, indeed, friends.”

“Who would have thought?!” Laura piped up excitedly.

 

The brunette smiled and shrugged.

 

“I won’t tell anyone if you don’t,” she teased lightly, a lazy smile on her lips.

 

Laura’s own smile widened at the sight. There was something in Carmilla’s eyes, in Carmilla’s smile that felt familiar, that felt appeasing.  It was a bit unnerving, but Laura guessed that was what it meant to finally be friends with the brunette.

 

“Yeah, we wouldn’t want _that_ , would we? Gosh, imagine how smug Laf will be!” Laura said with a fake shudder.

“I’d really rather not,” Carmilla replied with a wince. “Maybe we ought to keep this friendship of ours a secret… After all, being friends with a dork like you surely won’t be good for my reputation,” the brunette teased.

 

Laura grinned despite the insult and narrowed her eyes.

 

“Oh yeah, because you’re _such_ a badass lady killer,” she shot sarcastically.

“Exactly. You really do know me well,” the brunette said with a wink.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and bit her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling.

 

“You know what? I don’t even care. So what if I’m a dork? We’re friends now, you have to deal with it. You have be the companion to my doctor! And maybe, deep down, that’s kinda what you like about me, isn’t it?” she added with a confident smirk of her own.

 

It was Carmilla’s turn to bite her bottom lip as she shook her head slightly in disbelief.

 

“You’re killing me, Hollis,” she muttered with a groan.

“Yeah well… Don’t die just yet, okay? We’ve _just_ started being friends,” Laura found herself replying automatically.

 

Carmilla’s smirk eased into a soft smile and Laura wasn’t sure if it was the fading light of the evening or just the angle in general, but her eyes looked brighter than usual, her features more delicate. There was a lock of her dark hair slightly hiding one of her eye and Laura felt an urge to push it back to see Carmilla’s gaze fully. Her heart felt heavy with the thought and she breathed in slowly.

 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere,” Carmilla said gently, her voice barely a whisper, before turning her eyes back towards the water.

 

Laura exhaled slowly and felt her heart flutter with an inexplicable feeling. Then, without thinking, she inched closer, grabbed Carmilla’s arm and rested her head against thegirl’s shoulder. She felt Carmilla tense for a second at the initial contact, but then relax almost instantly.

 

“Good,” Laura mumbled, feeling the vibration go through her body as Carmilla hummed in answer.

 

They didn’t speak after that as they watched the blue water and the horizon in the evening sun. They didn’t need to. They were friends now and this peaceful silence was perfect enough on its own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	12. Chapter 11: Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laura and Carmilla are finally friends. What now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can only apologize profusely for the absolutely awful delay it's been. When I started school again, I thought it would slow me down a little, not paralyze my writing this much. 
> 
> But I'm back. And so is this story. And I'm not abandoning it. Under no circumstances. So fret not. No matter the delays, I'm always writing on the side :-) 
> 
> Thank you all so so much for the love and support. You've been amazing.

**Chapter 11: Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it**

 

The thing about being Carmilla Karnstein’s friend, Laura soon found out, was that it changed pretty much nothing of their previous relationship. To be fair, it wasn’t like the small girl had ever really entertained the idea that, suddenly, Carmilla would be gentler and nicer now that they were friends. Just on the ferry ride home, Laura had found her just as snarky as usual, her comments just as biting. She’d shot a few digs at Laura and had rolled her eyes a whole lot and had been as blasé as ever even after the amazing day they’d spent together.

 

No, Carmilla was just as she had always been. If anything, it was Laura who felt different now. If before the brunette’s cutting remarks had annoyed her beyond reason, now they made her laugh or at least smirk. Sure, Carmilla still had an uncanny way to get under her skin if she really wanted to, but Laura was a lot more patient now.

 

It was different, but entirely familiar and as much as Laura wanted it to feel weird, it felt nice and kind of perfect. She’d known Carmilla for years and that meant that she’d known for a long time exactly what made the girl roll her eyes or what made her raise her eyebrows. Before, the predictability had felt annoying beyond words. Now though, it made her smile. Carmilla’s predictable grumpiness which had always felt aggravating was now somewhat endearing to the smaller girl. And really, Laura _knew_ that perhaps she ought to feel weirded out, but she just couldn’t. She _liked_ it. She liked the fact that the girl’s actions made her smile instead of frown. She liked that instead of make her stomach upset, she made it feel warmer. Above all though, she liked how Carmilla’s lips curled into a satisfied smirk and how her eyes flashed with mischief in a way they never had before every time Laura laughed or smiled at one of her comment.   

 

All in all, it was a rather easy friendship to settle into. Even if they’d spent years arguing, there was no denying that they had also spent years around each other. Sure, their relationship hadn’t been friendly at all, but they still knew each other and that counted. It made it all easier and more natural.

 

So much so that when Carmilla had announced after returning on board that she was going out for the evening, Laura hadn’t even argued. She’d felt a small twinge of discomfort when she’d figured that the other girl was probably going to meet Elsie, but she’d let it slide. If that was what Carmilla wanted, Laura wasn’t going to stop her. Carmilla was allowed to do whatever she pleased and it wasn’t Laura’s business to interfere even if she couldn’t understand what the hell was so interesting about Elsie that made Carmilla go to her every night. It wasn’t that she cared- she _so_ didn’t- but she didn’t understand it. Whatever.

 

Despite how much she’d told herself that Carmilla could do whatever she wanted and that she, Laura, didn’t mind, she was still kind of pleased when she woke up the morning after their excursion in Mexico and found the brunette sleeping in bed beside her. A smile broke across her face, as it seemed to do often around Carmilla nowadays, and it only widened when she noticed the girl’s opened mouth and heard the faint sounds of snoring. Carmilla Karnstein, badass extraordinaire, Laura thought with a snort.

 

After a few minutes of staring and a few minutes more in the bathroom, Laura was ready for breakfast, leaving a still snoring Carmilla behind. They didn’t have much to do since today would be a day spent at sea. Later, they had another one of their dancing lesson, but apart from that they were free to roam the ship as they pleased. So really, it didn’t matter if Carmilla slept the morning away. Besides, there were still a few features of the ship Laura had yet to see and was dying to anyway.

 

The small girl was halfway through making her mental plans and was just sitting down for breakfast when a voice interrupted her.

 

“Laura, hi!” Danny greeted her with her trademark wide smile.

“Danny!” Laura answered automatically with her own beaming grin.

“Hi…” Danny repeated goofily, making the smaller girl giggle. “Uh, how are you today?” she added afterwards, her cheeks cutely pink.

“I’m good! And you?”

“I was good, I’m even better now that you’re here,” Danny replied shyly.

 

Laura blushed and bit her bottom lip, but otherwise remained silent

 

“No Elvira this morning?” Danny asked to break the silence.

“Who?” Laura wondered confusedly before understanding. “Oh! You mean Carm!” she said with a slight chuckle. “No, she’s still sleeping.”

“What a pity,” the tall waitress shot back with a smirk and an eye roll. “But wait… Carm?” she inquired with a frown.

 

Laura felt herself blush again and tried to shrug casually.

 

“Yeah…”

“So you guys made up, I’m guessing?” Danny asked, sounding a bit uncomfortable.

“Yeah. I know how that sounds, but… well, she planned this big day for me yesterday as a way of, you know, apologize,” Laura explained with a wave of her hands. “And well… she didn’t have to _do_ anything, right? But she did and she was _really_ sorry and… we made up.”

 

Danny nodded slowly, her frown still etched deeply onto her features. Laura could tell that something was bothering her.

 

“Hey,” Laura asked softly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just…” the waitress answered hesitantly. “You were really upset the other day and now you’ve already forgiven her and I’m just worried she’ll hurt you again is all…”

 

Laura smiled and felt a wave of tenderness erupt in her chest.

 

“Thank you for your concern,” she said warmly. “But really, it’s okay. I know you don’t get to see it much, but I promise Carmilla isn’t a bad person.”

 

Danny snorted at that, but didn’t contradict the small girl. Despite that, Laura felt the need to push the point further.

 

“I swear! She can be really… considerate and sweet…” the small girl explained with a soft smile. “She’s my friend,” she added quickly with a slight blush. “Not that I ever thought she would be… but… yeah.”

“If you say so…” Danny relented with a sigh. “I personally think you’re entirely too sweet and forgiving, though,” she added, making Laura laugh lightly and roll her eyes.

“Yeah yeah.”

“Yeah, but… I kind of really like that about you,” the waitress admitted, making Laura blush again, but smile brightly.

 

They grinned at each other happily before Danny spoke again.

 

“Which reminds me… Are we still on for tomorrow? Our date?”

“Oh! Yes, of course!” Laura piped up instantly, remembering just then that she’d made such plans with Danny.

“Great!” the tall woman answered happily. “I was thinking… Maybe we could take advantage of the fact that I have the day off and, you know… spend it together?”

“Oh!” Laura squeaked, her eyes widening.

“Obviously we don’t have to do that if you’d rather not. I would understand… I was just thinking that since I have so little time off and-”

“Danny!” the small girl interrupted. “I’d love to spend the day with you,” she clarified with a bright smile.

 

The waitress matched it with one of her own and blushed cutely. Laura couldn’t help but notice how funny it looked with her bright red hair. Still, she looked positively adorable and Laura was kind of proud that she was the reason the other woman looked so pleased.

 

“Good! Great! I huh… I’ll get you hot chocolate then and huh… I’ll meet you tomorrow? Say around 10 on the pier?”

“That’s a date,” Laura smirked as Danny nodded vigorously before waving goodbye at her and going back to the kitchens.

 

Laura looked at her go and smiled to herself. The day sure was starting on the right path. She’d spent a great evening with Carmilla the day before, she’d had a good night of sleep, there was a hot chocolate on the way for her and there was the promise of a date with Danny, her oh-so-hot waitress, the next day. Sure, she’d momentarily forgotten about it, but now that she’d been reminded, the small girl was all the more excited. She’d been attracted to the tall redhead from the moment she’d seen her and she couldn’t wait to get to go on a date with her.

 

***

 

The rest of the morning went by pretty fast after that. As she’d promised, Danny had brought her a delicious hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and they’d sneak glances and smiles at each other until Laura was full enough to leave the room.

 

She’d roamed the ship a bit afterwards, finding a small art gallery on one of the bridges. She’d decided to spend the rest of the morning there and when she’d finally left the small room, the sun was bright and high into the sky.

 

Of course, Laura knew that she had more work and more exploring to do, but the day was too beautiful to spend it inside the ship. Besides, she was already wearing her bathing suit. The small girl didn’t need that much more convincing before making her way to one of the biggest outdoor pool onboard.

 

The second she’d reached her destination, Laura dropped her clothes onto a nearby chair and dived into the cool water, feeling instantly relieved as it hit her skin. Laura had had every intention to relax when she’d made her way to the pool, but now that she was in the water, she didn’t want to just stand still anymore. So instead, she began to swim.

 

Laura soon lost track of time as she began to do laps. She had always found that there was something freeing about swimming. She wasn’t sure if it was the feeling of the water sliding down her body or how she seemed to feel weightless in the water, but whatever it was, she’d always loved it. She loved how she could feel every single one of her muscles working, from the tip of her fingers to the tip of her toes, loved how her arms burned and her core tightened, loved how her heart pumped and her legs strained against the natural resistance of the water. She didn’t think about anything when she swam. It was just her and the water, a little bubble of nothing but pure exercise and calm.

 

Laura had no real idea how long she’d been swimming, but she knew it must have been a while when, after turning on one side of the pool, she spotted a familiar brunette shape on the other end. A smile formed on her lips automatically and she found herself swimming towards the shape. A few feet away from it though, Laura stood and brushed her wet hair away from her face to make sure that she’d recognized the right person. When she saw Carmilla, sat on the edge of the pool with her feet dangling in the water, her weight supported by her arms extended behind her, her smile grew.

 

“Hey!” she said still grinning as she walked towards the other girl.

“Hey,” Carmilla replied, her lips already forming a smirk, her eyes shining.

“Have you been here long? I didn’t see you until just now,” Laura worried.

“Just a few minutes cupcake. Don’t worry about it,” the brunette replied casually.

 

A comfortable silence settled between them as Laura treaded water with her hands and Carmilla moved her feet in circles, observing the water moving around them.

 

“So…” Laura said eventually.

 

Carmilla didn’t reply anything, but raised a curious eyebrow at the smaller girl.

 

“How are you? Did you sleep well? I don’t know, whatever,” Laura provided with a shrug, a soft chuckle escaping her lips when Carmilla rolled her eyes.

 

“If you must know, I’m fine,” the brunette replied slowly.

“So am I, thank you for asking,” Laura shot back with an eye roll and a grin that Carmilla matched only seconds later.

“How thrilling of you to share,” she teased.

“Don’t be rude,” the small girl said with a giggle. “We’re _friends_ now, you’re _supposed_ to ask me these sort of things back!”

“Why does friendship with you sound so exhausting?” the brunette huffed with fake aggravation, a small smirk still firmly on her lips.

“Everything worthwhile requires a certain amount of effort,” Laura answered sagely, feeling pleased with herself when a sharp laugh escaped the other girl.

“Well look who’s feeling particularly confident this morning…” she mused, amusement dancing in her eyes.

“Why shouldn’t I be?” Laura answered with a shrug, her head held high. “ _You_ , Carmilla Karnstein, unsociable badass extraordinaire, have finally fallen for my outstanding personality and have become my _friend_! Very few people have achieved such high standards in your esteem. Why shouldn’t I be a bit smug about it?” the small girl finished, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing.

“Don’t flatter yourself too much cupcake. It had nothing to do with your annoying nature. The company on this ship is simply seriously lacking,” Carmilla shot back, clearly amused.

“Yet here you are. _You_ sought _me_ out! Clearly you’re dazzled by my company, as lame as you claim it is,” Laura said smugly.

 

The brunette rolled her eyes in response, but Laura could tell she was working hard to contain her smile.

 

“Purely accidental.”

“You keep telling yourself that, _cupcake_ ,” Laura said, grinning brightly when Carmilla shook her head in disbelief.

 

After a few seconds when the brunette hadn’t replied anything, Laura cupped her ear and leaned towards the other girl.

 

“Wait, what is that? Nothing? Are you telling me I’ve _defeated_ you in a verbal match?” she asked giddily.

 

Carmilla narrowed her eyes, but remained silent and Laura couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms in the air and did a little victory dance.

 

“You’re _weak_ Karnstein!” she shouted happily. “I beat you! I so beat you! I can’t believe I’ve- Holy _hippogriff_!” she exclaimed suddenly as a splash of unexpected water came crashing down her face.

 

She stared incredulously as Carmilla chuckled at her expression, a mischievous look in her eyes.

 

“Oh no! You did _not_ just do that!” Laura exclaimed, her lips instantly forming a smile.

“What’s the matter creampuff? Can’t handle a bit of water?” the brunette asked as she flicked her feet up in the water and sent another wave towards Laura.

“Eek!” the girl cried out, jumping back reflexively.

 

She brushed the water off her face and stared down at Carmilla who was still looking at her with amusement.

 

“Oh it’s _so_ on!” she finally exclaimed, plunging her hand in the water in an attempt to get back at the brunette.

 

Carmilla laughed loudly as she continued to kick water towards the small girl who was walking closer to her now, arms raised clumsily to protect herself from the worse of the splashes.

 

When she was close enough, Laura dived forward, grabbed one of the brunette’s foot and tried to tug the other girl into the water.

 

“Laura Hollis! Do not even think about it!” Carmilla exclaimed instantly.

“Not laughing so much _now_ , are you?!” Laura laughed, giving the girl’s foot another tug.

 

Carmilla’s ass slid on the tiled floor surrounding the pool, but before she was too far, her other foot hooked itself around Laura’s waist and pulled the small girl close until she was effectively trapped between the pool’s side and Carmilla’s own legs.

 

“You are _not_ going to pull me into the water!” Carmilla said imperatively.

 

Laura laughed loudly, until her hands settled naturally on top of the brunette’s thighs. The laughter died a little in her throat and Laura gulped slowly as she stared up at the other girl, the feeling of her warm skin under her fingers. It had all happened so fast that she hadn’t realised just how close she was to Carmilla now. Carmilla whose lips were perfectly pink and curved into a smirk and whose eyes were just that perfect hue and whose skin seemed so ridiculously soft. Laura felt a bit lightheaded all of a sudden. Had Carmilla always been this beautiful? Even with the utmost smug expression on her face- Right, smugness. Carmilla was smug because they’d been having a little bit of a water fight and now she was winning.

 

That, if anything, brought Laura out of her daze. She shook her head a little and an idea sprung to her mind.

 

“You’re trapped now, sweetheart,” Carmilla told her, still very much proud of herself.

“Am I?” Laura asked, grabbing a bit more firmly unto Carmilla as she lifted her feet to put them against the pool’s wall.

 

The second she did, Carmilla’s smile faltered.

 

“Oh no! Don’t even think abo-”

 

Laura didn’t let her finish before pushing against the wall with all her strength and diving backwards into the water, bringing along with her a swearing Carmilla.

 

A moment later, they were both coming out of the water, Laura brushing her hair away from her face just in time to see the brunette spluttering and swearing, a look of complete and utter shock on her face. It was hilarious really and so the small girl soon found herself doubled over in laughter.

 

Still, when Carmilla turned her incredulous stare towards her and Laura caught sight of her dripping brown curls and the drenched white t-shirt clinging to her skin, she felt like it wasn’t just amusement bubbling inside her stomach.

 

It took her a moment to recover and somehow that was enough to bring Carmilla out of her surprised state.

 

“You have no idea what you’ve just started, pop tart,” she said almost dangerously and with that it really was on.

 

For the best part of the next several minutes, Laura and Carmilla chased each other around the pool. A few people stared at them curiously at first, but neither girls noticed nor cared. They were way too busy dodging the other’s attacks and laughing loudly to care whether or not their activities were coming off as too childish.

 

It went on for a good while and when both girls finally declared the war over, it was hard to tell who should be crowned victor. Both had managed to splash each other very well after all. Laura had successfully caught Carmilla off guard once and had made her swallow a huge mouthful of water while Carmilla had managed to tackle her spectacularly a few too many times.

 

It didn’t really matter in the end who was the winner of their little war, Laura realised. Not when she had had so much fun, she thought, pleasantly out of breath as she and Carmilla swam towards one end of the pool and pulled themselves out.

 

“I should have known you were the dunking kind of girl,” Laura mused as they made their way to some empty lounging chairs. “All sneaky and grabby and pushy! It fits you!”

“That isn’t even a proper _sentence_ , let alone a proper insult,” Carmilla scoffed. “And if you couldn’t handle being dunked underwater, you should have refrained from starting a water war,” she finished with a shrug.

“I could _so_ handle it!” Laura shot back indignantly. “I was the Queen of handling, okay? I was like the handle- _her_ , master in the art of taking care of sneaky dunkers the likes of _you_! Like I could ever _not_ handle it! I was _born_ ready to handl- hey!” Laura squeaked as she received the wet mass that was Carmilla’s t-shirt to the face.

“You are _such_ a dork,” the brunette told her with a very faint smile, before settling down on her lounging chair and placing a pair of sunglasses she’d grabbed from god-knows where onto her face.

 

Laura opened her mouth to argue, but found herself speechless as the sun gleamed across Carmilla’s wet skin and caught her attention. She gulped again slowly before settling down herself and cursing mentally. What the frilly heck was going on with her today? Sure Carmilla was attractive, but it shouldn’t have affected her this much. It wasn’t as if she’d never seen a beautiful woman before, yet, here she was reacting like a total teenager.

 

She needed to get a better grip on her hormones. Honestly, if she was starting to find the annoying brunette this pleasing to look at, then it could only mean that it was well about time she go on a date. It was therefore a relief that she would do exactly that in just one short day, Laura reminded herself with a smile. Yes, her date with Danny would be sure to push these weird reactions away. She’d spend the day with a girl she _actually_ was attracted to and everything would right itself.

 

Satisfied with her train of thoughts, Laura closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. It wasn’t before she did that she realised how tense she’d actually been. She’d just started to relax, her skin already simmering under the afternoon sun when Carmilla broke the silence.

 

“So how _did_ you sleep?” she asked and Laura was so surprised that she could not hold back the bark of laughter that escaped her.

 

***

They chatted for the better part of the next hour and it was _nice_. Even if Laura was doing most of the talking while Carmilla nodded and hummed along, breaking her silence once in a while to ask a question, it was undeniably pleasant. Of course, Laura _was_ sort of used to this easiness with the brunette by now, but it still never failed to surprise her, at least a little. It was genuinely intriguing to think of all the times they’d spent bickering (all the time they _still_ bickered) and yet spend times like these where conversation flowed and it really was as if they’d been friends all along.

 

“Okay, you need to tell me something,” Laura said seriously.

“What’s troubling that pretty little head of yours, sweetheart?” Carmilla asked lazily, nothing but her lips moving.

“Troubling? No, I just-” the small girl defended with a blush before being cut off.

“Cupcake, you’ve been gnawing that bottom lip for a few minutes now. Clearly, you needed to work up the courage to ask whatever it is that you were going to and now that you have, if only for the sake of your poor lip, please just ask,” Carmilla drawled.

 

Laura opened her mouth to argue, but closed it when nothing came out. As much of a smart ass as Carmilla was, she kind of did have a point there. Besides, now that she had started, she might as well just go ahead and continue.

 

“Okay… I was wondering, you know, we’ve had a few dancing lessons now and, well, I mean, it’s just that I haven’t seen you look like you’ve learn anything and yet you kind of keep being really good at it… I mean even the teacher keeps telling you about your perfect posture and everything and I was just thinking… How is it that you dance so well?”

 

Carmilla smirked in response and shrugged carelessly.

 

“Maybe I’m just naturally graceful,” she said, still smiling.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and shook her head.

 

“Oh come on! I don’t believe you.”

 

The brunette chuckled and shrugged again.

 

“Fine,” she relented. “I… I had dancing lessons as a child,” she admitted a little shyly.

“Seriously?” Laura exclaimed incredulously. “You, Carmilla Karnstein, were a dance lesson kind of little girl?!” she continued, a smile tugging on her lips.

“ _No_ ,” Carmilla answered with a pointed look, her eyes narrowing. “If you must know, they were imposed.”

“Imposed?” Laura wondered out loud.

“Yes. Mother was…” the other girl started before sighing tiredly. “Being a Morgan meant that we had to have a certain presence, an appearance of grandeur, if you will. Mother was always very fond of the old teachings, the liberal arts, languages, ballroom dancing, etiquette… From a very young age we had to attend several additional classes on top of our regular school curriculum. Dancing was supposed to impart us grace while also making us presentable at the numerous fundraiser Morgan Industries threw every year. There was always some old man with connections to impress or a rich widow to charm,” Carmilla finished with a shrug and a distant look.

 

Laura was silent for a second or two before crinkling her eyebrows in confusion.

 

“You keep saying we…” she inquired.

“My brother William and I,” the brunette clarified.

“Wait, you have a brother?! You’ve never mentioned him! I don’t even think Laf has…”

“We’re not very close. We never were,” Carmilla explained with another shrug. “He was adopted maybe a year after I was, just a few months before our adoptive father passed. He was quite young at the time, I don’t even think he remembers him… Anyway, we were always very different. He was a mama’s boy, still is. Last I heard he was in Singapore completing his MBA at INSEAD. Mother is very proud.” She finished, the bitterness clear in her tone.

“Hey…” Laura said gently, sensing the subject was perhaps a little bit more sore for Carmilla than she was letting on. “It’s okay to do things for yourself, you know?   So… you didn’t want to be CEO of some big company. I don’t think that makes you any less smart or proud-worthy. I don’t know your mum so I’m not going to pretend that I do, but, you _did_ do a double major and from what I know you were actually _really_ good. I just… If it was me, I’d be proud is all,” she continued with shy smile. “Honestly Carm, you may have annoyed me for years, but even so I always knew that you were ridiculously smart. Like I said, I don’t know your mum, but I find it hard to believe that _anyone_ wouldn’t know at least _that_ about you.”

 

Carmilla looked at her funnily for a few seconds in complete silence, before a slow smile crept up on her lips. When it did finally make its way though, Laura had to hold her breath for it was probably the most genuine smile she’d ever seen the other girl make. It reached all the way to her eyes and made everything about the brunette look softer, more delicate. It was breathtaking. Laura inhaled deeply at the sight before exhaling shakily.

 

“Anyway,” she said with an awkward chuckle as she averted her eyes. “I can’t believe how _boring_ those lessons must be for you!” 

 

Carmilla hummed in agreement and Laura chanced a look in her direction. Her soft smile had disappeared to be replaced with her trademark smirk. Somehow, the small girl was both relieved and disappointed by that.

 

“So now that you know how pointless they actually are, can we drop the classes?” Carmilla asked hopefully.

“ _No_ ,” Laura answered, chuckling when the brunette groaned in response. “Come on, don’t be dramatic, you don’t even seem to mind that much.”

“I _do_ ,” Carmilla provided with an indignant huff. “But _someone_ keeps saying that we can’t drop them so, what else am I supposed to do? I very well can’t let you go on your own, can I sweetheart? What kind of girlfriend would that make me?” she asked with a little smirk.

“ _Please_!” Laura scoffed with an amused smile. “You’re clearly not doing this for my sake. Just admit it, you’ve become quite attached to those flowery shorts, haven’t you?” Laura teased her, laughing loudly when Carmilla wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“Actually, now that you mention it,” Carmilla began slowly, her expression turning more serious. “I’ve been meaning to find a replacement, but of course with the apparel on this ship being ludicrously expansive I figured I’d wait for a better opportunity. Well, tomorrow we are back in Florida for the day before we depart for our second week. I was thinking that no better opportunity will present itself, so I might as well get a replacement then. Perhaps you’d like to join? Maybe we could find some other shady bar afterwards to traumatize you with,” she finished with a small smile.

 

Laura laughed and pushed Carmilla lightly, her heart beating a bit funnily as she realised slowly that the other girl had actually just asked her to hang out. She opened her mouth to accept, but shut it quickly when she remembered that she was actually busy. Her heart dropped in her chest and she gulped slowly. Tomorrow was her date with Danny and she’d already agreed to spend the entire day with the redhead. She couldn’t cancel now. Not that she wanted to, Laura reminded herself with a light blush appearing on her face at the thought. She _wanted_ to go on a date with Danny. And _sure_ , she was sad to have to turn down Carmilla’s invitation to hang out, but she had to.

 

“Oh shoot Carm! I can’t tomorrow. I already have plans,” Laura said earnestly.

“Oh?” the brunette answered, a flash of disappointment passing through her eyes. “And what are they, if I may ask? Some hot game of bingo to attend for your article?” she finished with a smirk that looked a little forced.

“No, actually I uh…” Laura answered getting strangely nervous. “I’m spending the day with Danny,” she explained, her voice uncharacteristically high as she spoke the redhead’s name.

“Danny?” Carmilla repeated, her eyebrows furrowing automatically. “The _waitress_?” she continued, her voice suddenly a lot less warm then it had been seconds ago.

“Uh… yeah, what other Danny do we know?” Laura answered, meaning her tone to be light and teasing, only to find her voice slightly shaking.

 

She wasn’t sure why this turn in the conversation was making her this uncomfortable, but it sure was. She could feel her heart beating faster and the other girl’s intense stare wasn’t helping at all.

 

“And you don’t find that odd?” Carmilla demanded briskly. “You’re supposed to be vacationing with your _girlfriend_ , yet you just happened to have some free time just for her? What excuse did you even use to explain my absence?”

 

This time Laura couldn’t help but bite her lip nervously. Right. Carmilla had no idea that Danny knew that they weren’t actually together.

 

“I didn’t really explain it actually…” she answered trying to avoid the other girl’s eyes.

“You didn’t?” Carmilla inquired incredulously. “And she didn’t find that strange? She didn’t feel the need to ask you if your _girlfriend_ would mind?”

“Uh… well…” the small girl mumbled, gulping slowly when Carmilla’s eyes narrowed.

“What is it Laura?” the brunette asked coldly.

“She knows,” Laura blurted out suddenly, looking around herself nervously when she realised just how loudly she’d spoken.

 

“Danny knows that we’re not-” the small girl explained in a hushed whisper, moving a hand between herself and Carmilla. “That we’re not, you know, a _us_.”

“What?!” Carmilla shot back in a cutting voice.

“Look, I ran into her that day you missed the excursion and I was upset and she noticed so she brought me into a room and she started asking questions and I didn’t think and I mentioned Elsie and-” Laura began explaining quickly before being cut off.

“You told her about Elsie?!”

“I didn’t mean to!” Laura rushed. “I started telling her about you not showing up and I _really_ didn’t mean to say anything else, but then I was just _so mad_ at you and so upset and I got carried away and I said you’d slept with Elsie.”

“Wow, way to go Sundance. I knew you didn’t exactly like this fake dating arrangement, but I didn’t think you’d paint me out as the world’s worst girlfriend,” the brunette scoffed bitterly.

“But that’s it! I _didn’t_! I messed up and Danny was going on about how you’d cheated and I just… I couldn’t let her think that you’d do that because… well I don’t know… I guess I just couldn’t… So, I told her…”

“All for my honour then? So noble of you, creampuff…” Carmilla mumbled just as bitterly.

“What do you want me to say, Carm?” Laura exclaimed. “I messed up, but Danny won’t say anything, okay? You don’t have to worry about Laf and Perry getting in trouble! She promised me she wouldn’t say anything.”

“Well how darling,” the brunette sneered. “She’s just your regular white knight in shining gym shorts, isn’t she?”

“Look, I get that you’re mad, but-”

“Do you? Because if memory serves me correctly you were quite happy to yell at me when it was I who was endangering our little secret. You seemed quite resolute about your moral high ground then, spouting accusations at me for not caring about anything. Funny isn’t it that it took you about a second to turn around and spill the entire thing to your little girlfriend,” Carmilla spat angrily.

“Danny’s not my girlfriend!” Laura defended with an eye roll. “Geez, we haven’t even gone on our date yet!” she finished without thinking.

 

Carmilla’s eyes widened in surprise but the next second, she had rearranged her features and looked impassive.

 

“I see…” she said coldly. “So this isn’t _just_ you spending time with that waitress, is it? It’s a date.”

“I… well I don’t know if the whole day is, but uh… we are going to dinner later so…” Laura admitted.

 

Carmilla nodded once before getting up and grabbing her still wet t-shirt.

 

“Where are you going?” the small girl called after her, standing up too.

“Anywhere that isn’t here,” Carmilla shot back grumpily. “It’ll give you plenty of space to think about that little love affair of yours.”

“Carm, you don’t have to-”

“Please, I wouldn’t want to interrupt. Have fun with the giant, cupcake,” the brunette interrupted her before walking away.

 

Laura looked at her go, her mouth hanging open. What the hell had just happened?

 

******

 

After their fight near the pool, Laura hadn’t seen Carmilla at all for the rest of the day. She’d looked for her a little, but no matter where she went, there was no sign of her grumpy roommate anywhere.

 

Laura wasn’t actually sure what had happened earlier. She did understand that Carmilla was mad at her for telling Danny their secret; that much was fairly clear. What she didn’t get was why the brunette had felt the need to leave. Okay, so Laura had lied, but if anything, it was a lie of omission. She hadn’t _meant_ to keep it from the other girl. It just hadn’t come up. And so what if she was going on a date with Danny? Why did it look like it bothered Carmilla? Was the brunette afraid of Danny telling other members of the crew? Or perhaps she was afraid they’d be caught and that the travel agency would then bill Laf and Perry. Either way, Carmilla had to know that Laura would be more careful than that. She cared about her friends just as much as Carmilla apparently did and she wouldn’t let the agency find out about her date with Danny. So, really, Carmilla had no reason to worry.

 

Reason to or not though, Carmilla was still clearly upset because Laura just _couldn’t_ find her anywhere. It was with no real confidence then that the small girl headed to her dancing lesson later in the afternoon. With Carmilla nowhere in sight, Laura was very much doubting that she’d show up at all. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to skip the lesson either. Even if Carmilla didn’t show, Laura had to go. She’d deal with the brunette’s absence if it came down to it.

 

She shouldn’t have worried though, because the first thing Laura saw when she walked into the dancing lesson’s room was none other than Carmilla, standing as casually as she could with her stupid flowery shorts and her eyebrows furrowed. Laura’s heart thumped hard in her chest and her stomach squeezed.

 

She walked over to the brunette nervously, stopping once she was standing right next to her. She waited for Carmilla to say something, but when the other girl didn’t even acknowledge her presence, Laura realised she’d have to make the first move.

 

“Carm,” she began quietly, a small burst of relief exploding in her chest when the brunette turned to look at her in response.

 

She stared for a few seconds then, only realising she had yet to say anything else when Carmilla’s eyebrow rose expectantly.

 

“I… I looked for you everywhere today… Are… are you okay?” she asked tentatively.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” the other girl answered, her voice perfectly levelled.

“Well…” Laura mumbled, wetting her lips nervously as she looked for her words. “You seemed upset when you left the pool and, like I said, I looked for you and I couldn’t find you so I just… I was worried.”

“You shouldn’t be,” Carmilla stated simply. “I’m fine.”

“Carm…” Laura whispered again, her heart heavy.

 

It had been a while since the other girl had been this cold with her. She looked fine, in a way, but Laura knew that this girl wasn’t the friend she’d made these past few days. She opened her mouth to say so, but then, the teacher walked in and the small girl was forced to cut the conversation short.

 

Laura tried to listen as the French man instructed them about the day’s lesson. Apparently, today, after learning the basic box step in both direction, they were to learn how to turn and switch from one direction to the other for the first half of the class. Then, they were going to begin to learn how to twirl. Most people seemed excited about that prospect, but Laura couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when Carmilla was standing next to her in complete silence with an undeniable air of apathy on her face.

 

Laura tried not to take too much out of the other girl’s attitude, but when the teacher instructed them to team up and Carmilla stood before her ramrod straight, her eyes empty and fixing a spot above Laura’s left shoulder, the small girl couldn’t help but worry. Carmilla who was always shooting sarcastic comments or at the very least eye rolling once in a while was doing none of it today. Sure, she looked bored like she usually did, but it was in a serious way that just didn’t feel like her at all. To make matters worse, no matter how much Laura stared at the brunette, her face remained unyieldingly blank and her eyes kept looking at everything but her. Even when Laura stood way too far from Carmilla on purpose, the other girl didn’t flinch.

 

All in all, it was a hellish lesson. The whole cold act was driving Laura mad, but every time she wanted to say something, Carmilla would twirl her or the teacher would approach them, making it entirely impossible for Laura to say anything at all. By the end of it, the small girl was more than ready to explode. Carmilla was still being cold and no matter how badly she tried to dance to get her attention, the brunette had remained impassive.

 

When the teacher finally let them go, Carmilla moved to leave at once and Laura just about lost it.

 

“Carm, please!” she almost shouted after the girl, making a few heads turn.

“Jesus, cupcake,” the brunette grumbled in response. “What’s wrong?”   

“What’s _wrong_?” Laura repeated incredulously, her voice a lot wobblier than she’d expected. “I’m the one who should be asking that! You disappeared all day after being angry at me, you’ve barely looked at me all lesson and now you were just going to leave without even saying goodbye! I get that you’re upset with me and I know you’re worried about that whole Danny knowing-thing” the girl explained hastily, whispering the last part. “And I don’t blame you, okay? I _get_ _it_ , Carm. I get why you’re angry at me and I get that with my reaction to Elsie this looks super hypocritical to you, but I promise, I _promise_ that I’ll make sure Danny doesn’t tell anyone. Just… just, _please_ , don’t shut me out…” Laura finished, her voice cracking on the last word and her eyes filling with tears.

 

Laura hadn’t even realised she’d gotten this emotional until she finished her speech, but she could feel a pressure inside her chest and fear bubbling in her stomach. She didn’t know why the thought of Carmilla being genuinely angry at her was making her panic this much. Whether she knew why or not though, she _was_ panicking.

 

Perhaps it was the fear in her voice or the unshed tears in her eyes, but only a few seconds after Laura had finished speaking, Carmilla’s expression softened and she stepped closer.

 

“Hey hey, creampuff,” she muttered, gently cupping Laura’s cheeks.

 

Laura sniffled and blinked back the tears, her brows furrowed as Carmilla looked at her. The brunette seemed conflicted, her own brows furrowed as well, until she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a few second. When she opened them again, she didn’t look as conflicted as before and when a small smile appeared on her lips, Laura felt the pressure inside her chest fade away slowly.

 

“You’re good?” Carmilla whispered, her thumbs drawing circles on Laura’s cheeks. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

 

Laura nodded slowly and sniffled. Carmilla continued to smile through her furrowed eyebrows, her eyes roaming the small girl’s face. She remained silent for a while longer and the more she stared, the more Laura felt herself relax, like something in the brunette’s eyes had an almost magical soothing effect on her. Or perhaps it was the undeniable fact that, right here, with Carmilla’s hands on her cheeks and her eyes on her face, Laura no longer felt like the girl was shutting her out. For some reason, just that knowledge felt like enough.

 

“I’m sorry I worried,” Laura croaked after a while.

 

Carmilla’s eyebrows furrowed even more and she shook her head before letting her hands fall from Laura’s face. The small girl missed the warmth almost instantly.

 

“Don’t apologize,” the brunette said, no longer looking at Laura.

“I shouldn’t have panicked, I mean, you probably just needed some _you_ time. I was just being stupid, I thought that maybe you were _really_ mad at me, but it’s ridiculous because why would you even care this much about me, right?” the small girl said quickly with an awkward chuckle.

“Laura,” Carmilla interrupted with a pointed look. “Stop. I… I shouldn’t have reacted this strongly… I was… mad,” she continued, her eyes still everywhere, but on the other girl. “Anyhow, it was childish of me.”

“So you _were_ avoiding me…” Laura muttered, sadness lacing her words.

 

Carmilla shrugged in response, her shoulders stiff even through the motion.

 

“I’m sorry,” Laura repeated. “I _promise_ though that I’ll be careful and that Danny won’t tell. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before…”

 

Carmilla looked at her weirdly for a moment before closing her eyes and sighing.

 

“It’s okay, creampuff,” she mumbled, opening her eyes again. “I don’t care that she knows.”

“Are you sure? Because I know you were mad about this because you were afraid she’d tell and-” Laura started saying, but stopped when the other girl scoffed and shook her head. “What?”

“It’s nothing you should worry your little head over cupcake,” the brunette answered cryptically. “Just stop worrying, okay?” she continued with a small smile.

 

Laura waited for a few seconds for Carmilla to add something else, but she didn’t.

 

“Okay,” Laura said eventually. “So… we’re okay, right? You and I… we’re still, you know, friends, right?” she continued hopefully.

 

Carmilla smirked and chuckled lightly in response. 

 

“Of course sweetheart,” she assured genuinely, making Laura smile with relief.

 

They stayed silent for a few seconds after that, simply looking at each other and grinning before Laura felt herself blush and had to break the eye contact. As calming as she’d found the brunette’s eyes a moment ago, now they were making her oddly nervous.

 

“Okay!” she squeaked awkwardly. “So uh… I guess I’ll let you…” she trailed off waving her hands as she looked for her words. “Go do whatever it is that you were about to do,” she finished lamely.

“Right,” Carmilla said with a nod. “I’ll see you around,” she finished before turning around and starting to walk away.

 

It was as if her words had sparked something in Laura though, as if the uncertainty of it just didn’t sit right with her, because the second Carmilla had started to leave, Laura found herself jumping forward and grabbing her hand.

 

“Wait!” she exclaimed, her heart thumping loudly.

 

Carmilla stopped instantly and turned to look at her with a curious expression painted on her face.

 

“Hum…” Laura began nervously. “I was just thinking… Maybe we could hang out? I mean, not tomorrow because, well, there’s Danny and all, but maybe after? Like the day after tomorrow we’ll be in the Bahamas again and maybe we could spend the day together? I mean you don’t have to say yes, but I just thought that since we can’t tomorrow than maybe-”

“Jesus cupcake,” Carmilla laughed. “You really _do_ ramble a lot, don’t you?”

“Yeah… my dad used to call it my little ‘condition’ when I was a kid. Actually… He still does…” Laura said with a soft smile and an eye roll.

 

Carmilla chuckled along with her.

 

“Your little condition uh?” she mused. “I like that. Smart man, your dad.”

“ _Please_ , don’t start using it too!” Laura pleaded, a look of alarm on her face.

 

Carmilla laughed loudly and genuinely at that and Laura’s heart caught in her throat. She couldn’t help but think about how great the brunette looked when she laughed this genuinely.

 

“I think I might, I quite like it,” she said eventually, bringing Laura out of her thoughts.

“Then remind me not to introduce you to him,” the small girl shot back. “I’m sure there are a few of his expressions you might like…”

“Why, creampuff, don’t you think you should introduce him to your ever doting girlfriend?” Carmilla teased.

 

Laura rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to argue when she noticed that their little exchange had brought the attention of a few other travelers.

 

“Uh… I uh…” she mumbled, looking for something to say, her eyes moving between their spectators and the other girl.

 

Carmilla quirked an inquiring eyebrow before seemingly noticing their audience. A slow smirk formed on her lips and Laura felt all the more nervous all of a sudden.

 

“It’s okay, baby,” she said, her voice deep and seductive. “You’ll introduce me when you’re ready,” she finished, taking a step closer to the small girl.

 

Laura swallowed hard and stared into her eyes, noticing all too well for a moment that she was still holding onto Carmilla’s hand.

 

“Yeah I… Of course I will,” she babbled in response for their audience’s sake. “I’m pretty sure he’d love you anyway,” she added then as an afterthought, knowing somehow that she wasn’t lying at all.

 

If she’d expected Carmilla to shoot her something back, she was disappointed though as the other girl’s previous playful air seemed to vanish and she smiled tightly.

  
“So, day after tomorrow?” Laura asked, changing the subject in hopes that it would put a smile back on Carmilla’s face.

“Yeah, sure,” the brunette answered with a smile, yes, but one that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Yeah?” the small girl inquired with a hint of worry.

“Of course. I’d never miss the opportunity to spend the day snuggling up with my nice warm girlfriend, would I?” she finished softly, taking a final step towards Laura before holding lightly onto the girl’s neck with her free hand and placing a soft kiss on her cheek.

 

The small girl felt herself freeze for a second before closing her eyes and melting into the embrace. It barely lasted a moment though and before Laura had even realised that she’d melted at all, Carmilla was pulling her lips away slightly.

 

“Have fun on your date tomorrow, sweetheart,” she muttered softly enough for Laura only to hear.

 

Then, she pulled away completely and gave the other girl a small smile, before turning around and walking away.

 

Laura looked at her go with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. It was only after a few seconds of staring that she wondered why it had looked so much to her like Carmilla’s smile didn’t reach her eyes and why she thought there had been a hint of sadness as she’d wished her a good date.

 

****

 

The rest of the day had gone and went and before Laura knew it, it was finally Sunday and it was time for her date with Danny. To say that Laura was excited about it would have been an understatement. She’d woken up way too early that morning and had been absolutely unable to go back to sleep. It hadn’t really helped either when she’d noticed that Carmilla was nowhere to be found. A small pang of annoyance had flared inside her chest when a fleeting thought of Elsie had crossed her mind, but Laura had dismissed it instantly. She had no right to judge Carmilla seeing as she herself was about to go on a date with Danny and, besides, Laura was fairly certain that the brunette wasn’t even with Elsie (she’d woken up in the middle of the night and she was sure that the brunette had been there then).

 

Anyway, it didn’t _matter_. Carmilla was Carmilla and they were still friends and she’d see her tomorrow. This day was about Danny and, in such, Laura was better off focusing her energy on the beautiful waitress. No need to keep thinking about Carmilla and whoever she might or might not be with, right? At least, that’s what Laura told herself.

 

Focus on Danny, forget about Carmilla; that was the mantra Laura repeated in her head as she got ready, something that Laura had thought would go a lot more quickly than it actually did. Apparently, she wasn’t just excited but also stupidly nervous. As much as Laura tried to convince herself that she didn’t _need_ to be (Danny was perfectly nice and sweet after all), she couldn’t help it. There was something inherently intimidating about going on a date with a girl she’d fancied the second she’d laid eyes on her. Still, Laura was a grown up and she _could_ do it, she reminded herself. This was just a date, a fun and simple date. She could totally do it.

 

A while later, Laura was actually dressed and she believed her in herself a whole lot more. She’d settled in the end for something really casual, just a pair of dark capris and a white and marine polka dot blouse, but she was quite happy with herself. She looked nice, but she didn’t look like she was trying too hard either.

 

She felt a whole lot more confident in her room though than when she stepped out and departed to find Danny. _This_ , Laura thought bitterly, this feeling of anticipation and nervousness, this was exactly why she didn’t date much. 

 

Still, when Laura left the ship and found Danny waiting for her on the quays, she remembered why she bothered. The redhead looked simply gorgeous. She was dressed just as casually as Laura, having opted for a simple pair of jeans, a stripped tank top and a pair of converse, but even so, with her long hair braided slightly to the side, her shinning blue eyes and her perfect wide smile, Laura felt her breath catch in her throat. She had absolutely no idea how someone like Danny could be interested in her, but she wasn’t complaining.

 

“Hi!” Danny greeted her when she was close enough.

“Hi,” Laura answered feeling a bit bashful.

“So… I’m kind of glad we’re doing this,” the redhead admitted shyly.

“Me too!” Laura was quick to shoot back. “Speaking of, what _are_ we up to today?”

“Oh, right! Uh… I just thought we could walk along the beach, perhaps? I mean there’s this cute little museum and garden a few miles away… it’s kind of a good walk, but the weather’s nice and I thought we could take the time to get to know each other better,” Danny suggested.

“That sounds like a good plan,” Laura agreed with a smile that the redhead was quick to reciprocate.

“Great! Shall we, then?”

“Yup!”

 

They set off at a slow pace and if Laura had ever worried that maybe it would be awkward, she was soon relieved to find out that it was everything but. She’d found Danny nice and sweet (as well as beautiful) just from the short exchanges they’d had around the ship, but now that they were actually talking, Laura realised that Danny was even better than she’d thought. She was smart and funny and confident. She talked with conviction and passion and her eyes shinned as her hands made wide movement to illustrate her words. She had a fire that was captivating and Laura was loving every inch of it.

 

They’d been walking for about half an hour when Danny eventually seemed to hesitate.

 

“So… Can I ask… What’s the deal exactly between you and Carmilla?” she asked nervously.

“Between me and Carmilla?” Laura answered in a high pitched voice, her heart jumping in her throat “There’s no deal! There’s an absence of deal!”

“No, I mean… I know it’s not really a good topic of conversation for a date but… I’m kind of curious… You said you weren’t friends before and then that you were…”

“Oh, right!” Laura said with a nervous chuckle. “Of course, well, huh… we _weren’t_ friends. So, I told you about Laf and Perry, remember? Right, so, Perry is my best friend. She was my floor don in College and I guess I was so nervous that she kinda took pity… Anyway, she’d bake me brownies all the time and reassure me about exams and stuff,” Laura explained with a soft smile.

“She sounds nice,” Danny provided with a smile too.

“She really is! Anyway, Perry knew Lafontaine even before she knew me. They’ve been friends since they were little kids and, well, they were already dating when I met them. Apparently they realised their feelings in high school, _anyway_ … So Lafontaine was already Perry’s partner in College so that’s how I got to know them.”

“And Carmilla?” Danny inquired.

“Right! Carmilla is Lafontaine’s best friend.”

“So you met through your friends?”

“Exactly!”

“But you didn’t get along? And now you do?” Danny continued, still visibly confused.

“Right well… I guess you could say that we didn’t have the best first meeting…” Laura trailed off, sighing when the redhead still looked completely lost. “Okay, to be honest… We met for the first time on a sort of… blind date,” she admitted, her cheeks bright red.

“Oh… So you guys did date at some point?” Danny asked, sounding disappointed.

“No no!” Laura shot back quickly. “It’s just, Lafontaine was convinced we’d hit it off and they talked Perry into it and well… I had been a bit busy with school work and hadn’t met anyone in a while and Lafontaine promised that Carmilla was super attractive and nice in her own way- huh, I should have known right then it would be terrible… Anyway, I kinda went along with it and so did Carmilla, but _trust_ me, it did _not_ go well at all! The whole night was a disaster!”

“So there was no second date?” The redhead asked with a small smirk on her lips this time.

“I’m not even sure there was a first either! Within 5 minutes of having met we were already arguing. I stormed off and when I saw her again, she had some other girl wrapped in her arms and was drinking _my_ champagne which she had stolen,” Laura recalled with scoff.

“Not your princess charming then?”

“Far from it. Anyway, terrible blind date or not, she stayed close friends with Lafontaine and I with Perry so we’ve been sort of forced to hang around each other from time to time. We never got along though. Well, until now,” Laura corrected as an afterthought.

“Right…” Danny whispered. “Wait, so you said your friends gave you their cruise tickets because they couldn’t go, is that it?”

“Yeah.”

“And they hadn’t told you about it being a couple’s cruise?”

“Of course not! They knew we’d have never agreed to go if we’d known!” Laura said vehemently.

“Ok so… Basically, your friend Lafontaine set you up a second time…”

“Ye- wait, what!?” The small girl exclaimed, her eyes wide. “No no! Laf was just tired of us fighting is all… Because we’d argue all the time and… I mean… That’s what they said! That’s why they wanted us to go on that cruise together! Not… Not to… Oh god…” Laura muttered. “You think they set Carmilla and me up on a couple cruise so we’d…?” Laura inquired with a frown.

“It sort of sounds like it, but it’s your friend. You’d know better,” Danny answered with a shrug.

“But that’s-!” Laura tried to argue, her heart beating furiously in her chest.

 

Could this be true? Had Lafontaine entertained the idea of Carmilla and her as a couple for all those years? Surely, they’d given the idea up _ages_ ago… What with the way she and Carmilla always fought and argued and genuinely annoyed everyone around them by their behaviour towards each other- hell Laura had had exes over the years who had complained to her about that very fact. Surely, Laf knew better… And yet, for some reason Laura wasn’t so sure…. Not that she believed that she and Carmilla could make a _real_ couple. Gosh! _That_ was ridiculous. They’d fight _all_ the time and, as gorgeous as Carmilla truthfully was, her personality really was aggravating most of the time. At least it had been pre-cruise…

 

Laura was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost missed the sound of Danny clearing her throat. The small girl shot her head up and saw the questioning and worried expression on the redhead’s face. Right, she reminded herself, this was _not_ the time to think about that.

 

“Well, if it _was_ ,” Laura said, taking a step closer to the redhead. “It’s another massive failure for Laf, right? Since I’m kind of on a date with this super cute woman that sure as hell isn’t Carmilla,” she finished with a smirk.

 

Danny seemed to relax at her words and smiled back.

 

“Good point,” she agreed before smiling along and changing the subject promptly.

 

Laura smiled and followed the other girl’s lead, more than happy to steer the conversation far away from her annoying roommate.

 

*******

 

After the whole Carmilla discussion, the date continued much more smoothly. If Danny had seemed genuinely curious when she’d first asked, she now seemed more than happy to pretend they’d never brought the subject up at all. Sadly, Laura was finding it a bit harder to forget. As much as she was enjoying herself, as lovely as Danny was, her mind kept going back to Carmilla and how, potentially, their friend had still thought that they could be more than simply friends. No matter how long she thought about it, Laura couldn’t help but think that it was silly. Okay, so perhaps Carmilla wasn’t the person Laura had thought her to be for all those years, but to think that they could be more? That was just… Laura didn’t know exactly what it was, but it sure as hell wasn’t a good thing. Hell, she’d _just_ learned to tolerate the other girl. There was no way her feelings could go beyond that. Lafontaine had to be- if they really _did_ still think that Carmilla and she should be set up- delusional. Because, _honestly_ , they weren’t even compatible. Carmilla and she as a couple made no sense at all. They were too different, they annoyed each other too often. It was a ludicrous thought. Danny, on the other hand, _Danny_ was everything Laura had ever wanted in a partner. She was smart, passionate, considerate, polite… She was everything that Laura was looking for and even more. Danny made perfect sense. Danny whom she actually liked, had liked instantly, _Danny_ whom she was on a date with, Laura reminded herself, turning her full attention back to the redhead with a large smile to try to hide her blushing cheeks. Gosh, she really needed to focus.

 

****

 

Once, the small girl focused her attention on the redhead, things seemed even better. They continued to walk and chat easily and this time Laura was actually participating. They talked about their past, about their school years and Laura learned that Danny had done an English major in University and had been a TA in her final year. She’d asked how the redhead had come to work on cruises after that to which Danny had blushed a bit and sighed before explaining that she’d dated a girl in University for about a year before the girl had left her for her roommate.

 

“Oh my God, that’s awful!” Laura had exclaimed, but Danny had brushed it off.

“It should have been a mutual decision. We weren’t working anymore, but we didn’t want to acknowledge it. I was too protective for her and she was too independent for me. I guess her roommate didn’t have those flaws. It was a good thing really, she was the last tether I had and once we broke it off it was the push I needed to just leave and do something else. I needed a complete change of scenery and I saw an ad about some cruise company looking for crew members and I just went for it. I didn’t think I’d still be doing it a few years later though,” she’d explained with a slight chuckle at the end.

 

They continued to talk a bit about Danny’s job after that. Laura was more than eager to learn about the cruises she’d been on, the countries she’d travelled to and the people she’d met. It was all fascinating and Laura had enough curiosity to want to know it all. Eventually though, the conversation moved along and it was Laura’s turn to answer questions about her work.

 

“So, why journalism?” Danny asked after Laura told her about her work at the newspaper.

“I don’t know, it’s always interested me. I had an obsession with female truth finders as a kid- seriously, I had posters of Diane Sawyer, Amy Goodman and, of course, Margot Kidder _and_ Teri Hatcher, in my room- and I always thought it was super important. I liked that the idea of defending the truth no matter what. It’s always resonated with me this… this _right_ to know, to be informed. I liked the idea of reporters with a take-no-crap attitude and an iron will even in the face of adversity… I just wanted to be as equally brave and report the truth. Let the people know what was really going on so that they wouldn’t be abused by dirty politicians or organisations,” the small girl explained with a shrug.

 

Danny smiled at her with such softness that Laura blushed.

 

"Laura Hollis, woman of the people," she said with a twinkle in her eye.

“Yeah, something like that,” the small girl admitted with a chuckle. “At least that was the idea when I started my degree…”

“And now?”

“Now… Now I’m a little less investigative, more world journalism. I still want to tell the truth, but I want to tell the truth about people. I want to show cultures and traditions. I want to remind us of the diversity and complexity of humanity. Of course, I know that if I ever happened to discover a nefarious plot along the way, it would be a nice added bonus, but I guess it’s not my focus like it was when I started College,” Laura explained with a shrug.  

 

“Well…” Danny started licking her lips. “I think the work you aspire to do now is amazing and I don’t know much about you yet, but I’m sure you became exactly the kind of women little Laura would look up to, investigative journalist or not,” she finished shyly.

 

Laura’s heart swelled at the words.

 

“Thank you,” she muttered meaningfully, her cheeks bright red.

 

They continued to talk about Laura’s career after that and as far as the small girl could tell, Danny was genuinely interested. It made her feel warm and full to see the girl’s blue eyes look at her with such rapt attention. They talked so much that before Laura had even noticed, they had arrived to the museum and garden Danny had mentioned when they set off. They walked to the booth and the redhead paid for Laura’s ticket before they headed inside.

 

Again, time seemed to fly by. Laura was half convinced by this point that it was entirely due to Danny and how much of an awesome company she was. In the museum, she seemed to know so many things that it felt to Laura like she had her personal tour guide. She’d shower the small girl with information- history about the house or the paintings- and blushed whenever she worried if she was being boring. When they stepped into the gardens, the redhead didn’t know quite as much, but the scenery was so lovely, so heavenly and calm that the silence was also very welcome and Laura revelled in the fact that it wasn’t awkward at all.

 

****

 

After the museum, they’d gone to dinner in a nice little place with tables by the beach and lanterns hanging in nearby threes casting a dim yellow glow over them. The food had been delicious and the conversation had remained comfortable and easy. Laura was completely in awe actually of how _easy_ it was with Danny. They’d shared a pie for dessert and they’d laughed over some mandatory readings they’d both had to do in college and it felt to Laura like she’d been doing this with Danny for years rather than a day.

 

They’d left after the redhead had covered the check despite Laura’s protests and had headed off into the darkening evening. They’d continued their trek along the beach and if the setting sun over the Atlantic wasn’t one of the most romantic setting she’d ever seen, Laura didn’t know what was.

 

“Do you maybe want to sit down for a bit before we head back?” Danny asked the small girl after about half an hour of walking along the beach.

“Of course.”

 

They sat not too far from the water, the sound of the crashing waves thundering over the distant voices of other tourists and the few locals walking about. Laura took off her shoes and dug her feet the white sand, letting a sigh of contentment escape her lips. With the evening, a soft breeze had appeared and Laura shivered a bit as it blew past her.

 

“Oh shoot,” Danny mumbled as the small girl covered her arms a bit with her hands. “I didn’t think to bring a sweater of anything… Do you want to head back?”

“No no, I’m fine. I kinda want to stay out here a while longer, actually. It’s so beautiful,” Laura replied wistfully looking at the ocean.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed, her eyes trained on the horizon as well. “Thank you for coming out with me tonight. I’ve had a great time,” she said then, turning to look at the other girl.

“Me too,” Laura shot back readily. “Thank you so much for everything, the museum and dinner, but mostly for the company. Tonight has been wonderful.”

“Yeah?” the redhead asked shyly, smiling broadly when Laura nodded assuredly. “It’s too bad though, sometimes there will be kids making a bonfire on the beach and drinking and playing music and sometimes just being generally rowdy, but it’s always kind of fun and beautiful in a very cliché yet picturesque kind of way…”

 

Laura chuckled at the description and shook her head. Then, slowly, she inched her hand between them and brushed her fingers on the other girl’s palm.

 

“Sounds nice,” she muttered, her eyes cast down. “But this is good too…”

 

Almost fearfully, Laura dragged her eyes to meet Danny’s and felt something clench in her stomach when she saw that they were shining with affection. The small girl gulped slowly, unable to move, even as Danny twisted her hand to lace their fingers together. They didn’t say anything for a few seconds as they stared at each other in the setting sun. It was so cliché, but also incredibly romantic and Laura couldn’t help, but think that this was probably the most romantic date she’d ever been on. She also couldn’t help, but think that, sometimes, clichés were quite alright.

 

“What?” Laura asked a moment later when Danny’s eyes seemed to focus on her head and she chuckled.

“It’s just- you’ve got something in your hair,” the redhead said before reaching her free hand and pulling out what seemed like a leaf of some kind from Laura’s hair.

“Oh! Thanks,” Laura shot back, her voice faltering a little when she noticed how close the leaf retrieval had brought Danny.

 

Close enough that Laura could count the freckles on her face and see every fluctuation of blue in her eyes. Close enough to notice Danny start to lean in slowly and close enough to notice her long lashes when she finally closed her eyes.

 

Their lips touched a second later, almost tentatively at first. Laura’s heart thudded once in her chest as she felt the softness of the other girl’s lips on hers. They moved together slowly, both taking their time. It was nice, Laura thought. Danny’s lips felt good on hers, like the perfect combination of delicate and firm. The kiss wasn’t frantic or passionate, but it made Laura feel warm and safe.  

 

When their lips parted a few seconds later, the redhead had a heavy blush on her cheeks.

 

“Wow, I… I know this kind of thing usually waits until the very end of the date, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore,” Danny admitted.

 

Laura chuckled and shook her head.

 

“That’s completely fine. I _obviously_ didn’t mind,” she reassured.

“Good then,” Danny let out with a sigh of relief.

“Yes, definitely good,” Laura hummed.

“Should we head back now or…?” Danny asked.

“Can we stay for a bit longer?” the small girl asked, not quite ready to leave this halo of peace they’d created.

 

Danny chuckled and nodded.

 

“Of course we can,” she confirmed as Laura scooted slightly closer, trapping their hands in between themselves and smiling contently.

 

****

 

Sadly, it wasn’t long before they had to go. They tried to walk for a bit while holding hands, but the height difference made it slightly awkward and it was probably safer not to as they got closer to the ship, Laura reasoned.

 

Laura wasn’t sure if it was the loss of contact or simply the fact that their night was coming to an end, but she could feel the other girl’s mood dampening.

 

“Can I walk you to your room?” she asked once they’d made it back aboard the ship.

 

Danny’s spirits seemed to lift instantly as she smiled and agreed readily. Laura mentally patted herself on the back and they set off. They walked mostly in silence, but it felt more comfortable than it had earlier when they were coming back from the beach.

 

All too soon though, Danny had led Laura to a plain corridor and stopped in front of a door.

 

“So this is where the crew sleeps?” Laura inquired, actually a bit curious.

 

She’d never been to that part of the ship before.

 

“Yeah, pretty much. Our staterooms are pretty normal, nothing fancy like the passengers’ cabins, but it’s still alright. Some of us room together, though so those rooms are bigger… Anyway, I’m kind of rambling,” Danny finished with a small laugh. “I kinda don’t want this night to end…”

 

Laura smiled at the words.

 

“Yeah, it was a pretty great night,” She said. “Thanks for everything.”

“I didn’t do much,” Danny brushed off. “Thanks for agreeing to do this… Maybe we could… do it again? I mean, I know the situation is a bit complex, but I had fun tonight and I’d like to do it again at some point.”

 

Laura nodded immediately.

 

“Yeah?” Danny asked, insecurity clear in her voice.

 

Laura rolled her eyes before stepping closer. She looked around herself quickly and when she was sure that the coast was clear, she stood on her tip toes and brought her lips to Danny’s. The redhead met her happily and hummed in content before Laura stepped down grabbing the other girl’s hand with hers.

 

“I’d love to do this again too,” she said, giving the hand a light squeeze.

“OK,” the redhead agreed with a dashing smile. “I don’t know when, but…”

“We’ll figure it out,” Laura assured.

“Yeah,” Danny agreed.

 

They smiled at each other one last time and Laura let go of the girl’s hand before sending her off with a dorky wave. Danny laughed and waved back and then she was gone, disappearing inside her room.

 

Laura stared at the door for a second, bringing a hand to feel her heart. It beat steadily underneath her palm. The small girl couldn’t help, but frown in confusion.

 

She’d kissed Danny twice now and, both times, she’d felt good and warm and safe, but that was it. For some reason, Laura had expected to feel, well, more. She wasn’t daft, she knew that not _all_ kisses had to be hot and passionate. She _knew that_. Yet, she wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that, apart from one measly little thump, her heart had remained as it always was. There had been no butterflies, no clenching in her stomach, just a light warmth and a sense of comfort. And now? Well now, the small girl still felt happy and content, but there was no sense of anticipation, no uncontrollable excitement bubbling inside her chest at the thought of the next time.

 

Laura just didn’t understand it. Danny was perfect. With her broad smile and endless knowledge, her passion for travelling and her kindness, the girl was simply _ideal_. And not only was the _girl_ perfect, but so had the date... They’d had fun, it hadn’t been awkward and Danny had been the most gracious ever. So really, why didn’t she feel _more_?

 

Laura began to walk away from the redhead’s door, her thoughts and feelings battling inside her head. Maybe she was just out of practice… It had genuinely been ages since she’d dated anyone, let alone someone as nice and dreamy as Danny. Perhaps her heart was just proceeding cautiously, not willing to get hurt this early on. Yeah, it had to be that, right? What else could it be anyway?

 

Laura walked further along unfamiliar corridors and soon realised that the crew’s cabins led to a part of the ship she’d never been at all either. Excitement bubbled inside her instantly and Laura couldn’t help but confirm that it hadn’t been there before. She pushed all thoughts of Danny away. She just needed time. She’d been alone too long and now she just needed a few dates before her head and heart fully caught up to the fact that she’d met this wonderful person.

 

Laura was right in the middle of telling herself that it would surely take no time at all when her thoughts were interrupted by the faint sound of music. She frowned instinctively. She had visited so many lounges, bars and clubs on board that she’d pretty much thought she’d seen them all, yet she’d never been in this part of the ship before.  Clearly, she’d been wrong and there was still much more she needed to explore.

 

Without really thinking about it, Laura followed the music. It grew louder with each step she took and the small girl was soon able to distinguish the sound of a piano and perhaps a violin, both of which sounded like they were being played live. Laura walked on a bit faster, suddenly very interested. She turned a corner and saw a big glass door at the end of another hallway with a small sign on the wall announcing a piano lounge. Laura smiled and headed straight for the place. She’d always loved piano lounges.

 

The small girl was only a few meters away when she heard that not only was someone playing the piano, but someone was also singing. A deep, soothing voice that felt like a caress.

 

Laura walked faster and finally reached the lounge. She opened the glass door and almost froze at how much nicer the music sounded inside. She walked in slowly, closing the door behind her again and focused on the music. It was a slow melody, the kind of melody that engulfed you completely, the kind of melody that seemed purposeful. The voice- a woman’s definitely, Laura thought- also felt like that, like it could take you over entirely.

 

From her spot near the entrance, Laura couldn’t see the stage properly, so she walked further into the room, spotting a nice old fashioned bar not too far away. She walked over to it, her body feeling entranced by the music, by the way the woman’s voice seemed to fit so perfectly with the piano, which she was playing, and violin.

 

Laura had just reached the bar when she finally turned to look at the author of such music. The small girl’s entire body shook before going rigid when she saw the familiar mane of dark hair and sharp features of Carmilla sitting comfortably behind the piano. For maybe a full 10 seconds, Laura forgot that she could breathe, forgot to do anything but stare. She was in shock, truly. She couldn’t move as Carmilla’s fingers seemed to dance across the piano’s keys. Her eyes were closed and she was singing with an intensity that made it completely impossible for Laura to look away. There was something in her voice, something in the slight frown of her brows that was just… captivating. And breathtaking. Gosh, Carmilla was breathtaking.

 

Laura wasn’t entirely ready to form these kind of thoughts, but it didn’t matter because the next second, Carmilla seemed to reach a bridge (or whatever they were called, Laura had always sucked in music classes) and all of the small girl’s attention was focused on the lyrics.

 

“A room full of mirrors and it’s making me turn,

Nobody can help you when the medicine burns,” Carmilla sang her eyes still closed, her voice trailing off perfectly as it hit the notes.

 

“This is how I let you down,

And I’ve never been scared to show,

Somehow I’m feeling it more as I get old.”

 

Laura hadn’t even noticed, but one of her hands had found her chest and when she _did_ notice, she felt the erratic thumps of her heart beneath her fingers. She took her hand away as if burned.

 

“She’s good, uh?” a voice said behind Laura.

 

She turned around in one quick motion, her eyes wide and saw that the bartender had walked over to her. He wasn’t even looking at her thought, his eyes trained on Carmilla as she finished the song and applauses rose around the room. 

 

“She comes here every night, almost,” the bartender explained, turning his attention back to Laura who had been slightly distracted by the shy smile Carmilla gave the room before cracking her fingers and starting something else.

“Excuse me?” Laura asked as politely as her surprise allowed her.

“Yeah,” the bartender replied. “Almost every night. She used to just listen, but Bonnie- that’s the violinist- caught her longing looks and muttered singing one night and dragged her on stage. She’s been playing ever since.”

 

Laura nodded slowly, realisation dawning on her that Carmilla hadn’t been with Elsie at all after that one time it seemed… Her heart flipped in her chest and she looked at Carmilla again. Laura couldn’t believe how comfortable she looked, how at ease and happy. Everything about her was beautiful in that moment, beautiful and mesmerizing.

 

“Gee I sure hope your girlfriend isn’t around right now,” the bartender mused with a chuckle, snapping Laura out of her thoughts. “Would be hard not to be jealous with the way you’re gawking,” he explained when he caught the small girl’s confused frown.

 

His words felt like a slap and Laura opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came. She closed and opened her mouth a few times, but the more she did, the sillier she felt for having nothing to say. Why couldn’t she say anything? It was simple, wasn’t it? She hadn’t been gawking. She hadn’t been gawking because gawking involved a whole array of feelings that Laura was _not_ feeling. She’d been surprised, friendly-surprised, not… not anything else. And Laura wanted to say so, she really did, but then her heart was beating furiously and her stomach was in knots and she just couldn’t get the words out.

 

And then it dawned on her. Her heart was beating erratically, her stomach was in knots…

 

Laura turned on her heels and left the lounge as fast as she could. She almost ran to her room and when she’d finally reached it, she was panting furiously, hands on her knees, her head swimming and her limbs shaking.

 

This was insane. She didn’t know why her body had reacted this way and she didn’t know why the bartender had said she was gawking because it all wasn’t real. She was _not_ reacting to Carmilla in a way she’d expected to feel when kissing Danny. The simple thought of it made no sense. Because Carmilla made no sense. And Laura liked things that made sense. She liked girls that fit her, like a key into a lock. And Carmilla wasn’t that.

 

So, really, it all wasn’t real. She was simply rattled because of her previous thoughts about Danny and the surprise of discovering Carmilla’s musical talent. She was making comparison when there was no comparison to be made.

 

That _had_ to be the explanation, because, _honestly_ , she did _not_ have a crush on Carmilla Karnstein, she just _didn’t_ …

 

Right?

 

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it for now! Next chapter... lots of Hollstein :-P And perhaps a very confused Laura. Who knows (I do) ;-) 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts? Favourite bits and all.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading.
> 
> Ps: if there are any Québécois reading this (Chloe if you're still around), I so so wanted Laura to have a poster of Sophie Thibault in her room. In my head she had.
> 
> pps: Zoly shit!! I totally forgot to give credits to the song!! I got so excited about posting!! Bad me!!  
> Anyhow, if you don't know it, the song I used for Carmilla is "This is how I let you down" by The Franklin Electric!  
> It's one of my favourite band AND they're from my hometown. I highly recommend checking them out if you've never heard them before!! Orchestra or regular versions, all are good cuz the band is amazing!! :-)


	13. Chapter 12: No man is an island

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Laura and Danny's date. 
> 
> Day 9 of 14 of the Cruise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Behold Carmilla's POV! I feel like you guys have wanted this for a while. Hope it doesn't disappoint!

**Chapter 12: No man is an island**

 

It had to be said, Carmilla’s night had gone much better than she’d expected- which was a bit funny considering that she hadn’t even known she’d worry about it at all only a day ago.

 

In fact, when Carmilla had woken up the day before, she hadn’t even thought of the shopping escapade in Florida just yet. All she had thought of at that point was to find Laura and perhaps spend the afternoon with her. Beyond that, Carmilla certainly hadn’t planned anything.

 

Of course, then there had been the pool and the play fighting and Laura looking at her with bright eyes and that contagious smile of hers and even though she hadn’t planned it, the idea of shopping had sprung to her mind and Carmilla had had to ask.

 

Carmilla had to admit, this tendency of her to strive for the smaller girl’s presence was becoming more and more prominent. More prominent and _definitely_ problematic. Problematic because Carmilla had asked Laura out- although platonically- and Laura had turned her down and it had _hurt_. That was certainly problematic because Carmilla wasn’t the kind of girl that wallowed in disappointment if a girl turned her down. She’d always been the kind of girl that shrugged and moved on because there were always other women and she had never really cared.

 

Yet, with Laura, she _had_ cared. Not only that, she’d also been undeniably disappointed when Laura had revealed her plans with the redheaded oaf and actually upset when the small girl had let it slip that it was a date.

 

 _God_ , was she ever in trouble. In so _much_ trouble, because Carmilla had never meant to like Laura quite this much. How had she ever let her feelings slip passed her like this? More so, how was it even possible to feel nothing, but disinterest for a girl for the better of 6 years and see her dance drunkenly in an alley one day and be doomed? Carmilla didn’t understand it, but at the same time she did. 6 years were nothing when it had all been based on erroneous perceptions. And 6 years were easy to forget when Laura smiled at her and looked at her in the most genuine way, in a way that made her feel… fuller.

 

As much as she understood it though, it didn’t make it any less problematic. Not when she couldn’t seem to hold her feelings back or even slow them down and definitely not when she could feel this distraught because Laura Hollis was going on a date and it wasn’t with her.

 

So yeah, perhaps it hadn’t been planned or expected at first, but when Carmilla had learned about Laura’s date plans, she had most definitely _not_ been looking forward to the day.

 

In fact, when she’d woken up that morning and had seen Laura still sleeping, Carmilla had felt an immediate sense of dread take over her. It had been stronger than her then, every nerve ending in her body compelling her to get up and _run_ as fast as she could. And so she had complied. She’d grabbed a few items lying around the room, had changed in under a minute and had bolted right out the door. And even if getting as far away from Laura had seemed like the right choice- after all Carmilla had no desire to see her giddy pre-date expression- she had still felt like someone had stamped on her heart before throwing it in the gutter.

 

Considering that that had been the start of her day, it really _was_ surprising that Carmilla had managed to end it on a positive note. As she walked to her room, her fingers slightly stiff, but the music still reverberating inside her chest, there was no doubt though that she had managed to turn her day around.

 

There was just something about music, Carmilla had always thought, that calmed her down, grounded her in a way that nothing else could. She could sing and play and lose herself and it didn’t matter. She could lose herself completely, even, let the melody and the emotions overrun her and as long as she was behind an instrument, it was okay. For someone who had always been quite terrible with feelings and especially expressing them, music had became her one way to deal.

 

Carmilla had found it quite lucky, therefore, when she’d discovered the piano lounge on board. If it had been mostly a good place to relax at first, it had quickly become a lot more in the past few days. It was easier, somehow, to deal with her thoughts and feelings for Laura behind that piano. It was easier to forget that they would only ever make her miserable, easier to forget that Laura, even as happy as she looked about their new friendship, was still obviously fawning over that stupid waitress.

 

Carmilla clenched her jaw and silently seethed as images of the giant idiot entered her mind. It was imbecilic and petty for her to be _this_ angry at the girl. After all, she’d objectively done nothing wrong. Actually, when Carmilla was being honest with herself, she could admit that the redhead had done the opposite of something wrong. She’d realized just how beautiful Laura was, had learned that she was single and she’d gone for it. If anything, Carmilla only had herself to blame. _She_ was the idiot who had known Laura for so long and yet had never thought much of it. Danny _was_ the smart one, because she had seen right away what Carmilla had been too dim to see for years. And now she was paying for her stupidity.

 

Still, even if she only had herself to blame, it didn’t change the fact that it hurt. It didn’t change the fact that when Carmilla finally arrived in front of the stateroom she shared with Laura, she was genuinely terrified to find it empty. There was no use standing in the corridor though, so she took a deep breath and opened the door.

 

The breath of relief she let out when she spotted the tiny woman’s form in the bed was almost comical and the reprieve on her heart almost instantaneous. Carmilla made her way inside, closing the door carefully behind her, feeling a lot lighter than she had seconds ago. She stared at Laura’s back as she tiptoed closer. The other woman seemed to be sleeping and so Carmilla didn’t want to wake her. She quickly discarded her shirt and kicked off her shorts before changing quickly into the tank top she’d been using to sleep. A minute later, after a quick trip to the bathroom, she was ready for bed.

 

Slowly, the brunette slipped under the covers beside Laura and shifted into a comfortable position before finally relaxing. She stared at the smaller girl’s back, letting her eyes wander across the length of Laura’s hair and the curve of her shoulder. There was a thin ray of moonlight coming through the curtains and it made Laura’s skin shine in a way that made Carmilla want to softly trail her fingers down the exposed shoulder. Her fingers twitched and the brunette sighed deeply. _God_ , she was becoming pathetic.

 

With one last lingering look, Carmilla moved onto her back. She closed her eyes, another sigh escaping her lips as she tried real hard to forget, if only for a second, how everything about Laura seemed alluring now that she’d _seen_ her. Yup… she really had been a complete and utter idiot, Carmilla thought. She had been a fool and she was, no doubt, totally doomed.

 

****

 

Carmilla had never been an early riser. She had always preferred to stay up, always preferred the appeal of the late evenings, the solitude and quiet of the night. She’d never cared much for the early mornings, letting herself indulge in the need of sleep then.

 

It hadn’t even taken a week for Carmilla to realise that Laura was, _of course_ , and perhaps quite predictably, the opposite. The girl was _always_ up early, it seemed, and never felt the need to jump back into bed once she was up. Even when they’d watched the sunrise together, Laura had carried on with her day as if she hadn’t been awake at a ridiculous hour. In fact, only once on this cruise had Carmilla woken up to find Laura still sleeping beside her and only because Carmilla herself had been up way earlier than usual.

 

It was quite normal then, when the brunette woke up the next morning and saw the other girl still lying beside her that her first reaction was to _worry_.

 

“Laura?” Carmilla asked automatically, lifting herself onto her elbows, her brows furrowing. “Laura, are you-”

“Hummm, Carm?” the small girl mumbled sleepily, shifting in the bed to face the other girl.

 

Carmilla froze for a moment as Laura rubbed her eyes with an adorable pout, brows slightly furrowed in confusion.

 

"Did you say my name?" she asked eventually, her mind still clearly a bit fuzzy from sleep.

"Yes, I just..." Carmilla began awkwardly, cursing herself for her lack of eloquence. "It's just that you're still here in bed and I... wondered if you were feeling alright."

 

Laura frowned at the words and looked behind herself at the glass door leading to their terrace. She probably spotted the bright stream of light coming from between the curtains then because she turned back to Carmilla with a surprised expression.

 

"What time is it?"

"Considering this is my normal awaking time, I'd deduce that it must be around 10," the brunette replied with a shrug, her worry slightly subsiding now that Laura was awake and talking.

"Oh wow, really?!" Laura exclaimed in surprise, before letting herself fall into her pillow. "I can't believe I slept that late..."

"Yes, I surmised it wasn't in your habits... So... Any particular reasons you're still in bed with me this morning?" Carmilla asked softly, settling herself back into her pillow, her body turned to face the other girl.

 

Laura stayed quiet at the question and Carmilla's worry instantly returned.

 

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, her brows furrowing of their own accord. "Are you getting some decidedly late seasickness? Or perhaps something else?"

 

Laura continued to stare, her eyes wide for a fraction of a second before softening. She shook her head, her hair spreading wider onto her pillow.

 

"Are you quite sure?" Carmilla pushed, unable to stop herself it seemed. "Maybe you caught some tropical virus, are you feeling tired still?" she continued, bringing one of her hand to the small girl's forehead and touching it lightly.

 

Laura shook her head again and smiled before grabbing the brunette's hand that lay on her forehead and settling it with her own between their two bodies.

 

"I'm okay, Carm," she reassured, her voice low. "I promise, I'm feeling fine," she continued with a giggle when she spotted the brunette's still uncertain look. "Really," she insisted. "I just didn't get much sleep is all."

 

Carmilla tensed instantly at the words, retrieving her hand from Laura's and turning onto her back. Why hadn't that occurred to her? Of course Laura was fine. She had probably just spent a good portion of the night making out with the disproportionate amazon and was now paying for it.

 

"Oh," she muttered coldly. "Enjoyed your time with Xena then?" she found herself asking, half sneering.

"No, that's not-" Laura began to explain, before sighing heavily. "I did enjoy my time, I just meant... I wasn't back that late I just, I couldn't sleep for a while after."

 

The explanation didn't help, Carmilla realised. So, they hadn't spent the entirety of the night making out. Great. But Laura had probably been too excited to find a lick of sleep and the thought of it still made Carmilla sick. God she was a lost cause at this point.

 

"Right," she replied with no real enthusiasm.

 

She kept her eyes on the ceiling, her jaw tightening uncomfortably.

 

“Anyway,” she eventually shot out, as she swiftly got out of bed. “It’s not like it’s my business or anything.”

 

Laura remained silent as Carmilla rummaged into her luggage to find some clothes. She stayed silent as well when the brunette stepped into the bathroom to change. She’d teased the other girl countless times before by changing in front of her, but her heart wasn’t in it this morning.

 

When she walked out, Laura was sitting in their bed, her hair still messy from the night, her nose scrunched up in adorable confusion. Carmilla swallowed the thought and willed it away. She really didn’t need to remind herself of all the ways she found Laura Hollis appealing.

 

With a small sigh and without a glance in the small girl’s direction, Carmilla made her way to the door.

 

“Hey, wait!” Laura shouted after her, seemingly getting out of her daze. “Where are you going?”

“Breakfast? The beach? Anywhere really, why d’you care? Don’t you have plans with that _actual_ girlfriend of yours?” she snapped back, her voice dripping with bitterness.

“Danny _still_ isn’t my girlfriend!” Laura answered automatically. “It was _one_ date! Anyway, I thought… I thought _we_ had plans…”

 

Something in Carmilla's stomach churned happily at the other girl's readiness to deny a relationship with Danny, but she pushed it away.

 

“I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your one true love, sweetheart. Have at it, I don’t need the company,” she said a tad more harshly than necessary.

 

Not that her tone was surprising. She had always lacked a certain delicateness when it came to protecting her feelings. Laura frowned in response, hurt written all over her features.

 

“Why are you doing this?” she asked.

“Doing what?” Carmilla answered before clenching her teeth tightly.

“Pushing me away!” Laura exclaimed in exasperation. “I _know_ you’re being mean on purpose, okay? I _know_ you, Carm! You don’t really mean what you just said…” she finished, a lot less confident than she’d began. 

 

The brunette closed her eyes and sighed. Why couldn’t Laura just let her be?

 

“Please Carm…” Laura said softly, the voice coming from much closer than Carmilla expected.

 

She snapped her eyes opened and felt her heart falter when she realised that Laura had gotten up from the bed and was now standing right in front of her.

 

“Don’t shut me out…” Laura pleaded, her eyebrows furrowed. “I know this whole Danny thing puts you in a complicated situation and I know you’re worried about Laf and Perry, but please, _please_ , don’t shut me out because of it…”

 

Carmilla wasn’t sure if she wanted to scream or scoff. She sighed again and Laura took a tentative step closer. 

 

“We’re friends now and I just… I don’t want to go back to how we were before… So… look, I know you don’t _need_ the company, but I… I was actually… I kind of really want to spend the day with you,” the smaller girl admitted, a heavy blush on her cheeks.

 

Carmilla felt her heart leap in her throat before it started to beat erratically.

 

“So can we just, you know, do that?” Laura finished with a hopeful little smile.

 

The brunette felt her last restraint melt as she tried to bite back her own smile.

 

“ _Fine_ ,” she answered with fake exasperation and an eye roll for effect. “But I’m not spending another minute without coffee, so hurry the hell up, get dressed and meet me in the dinner hall, alright?”

 

Laura squealed in relief and launched herself into Carmilla’s arms in response. The brunette barely had time to realise what was happening, her body stiffening instinctively, before the smell of Laura’s perfume and shampoo lit up her senses. Before she had time to return the hug though, the smaller girl had detached herself, taking a few steps back with an awkward chuckle and bright red cheeks.

 

“Sorry!” she apologised quickly. “I just… I’m glad we’re okay!” she explained.

 

Carmilla nodded slowly, only managing to roll her eyes once she’d swallowed the lump in her throat.

 

“Hurry up,” she repeated, smiling fondly when Laura nodded vigorously and started skipping around the room to grab her things.

 

Carmilla watched her for another second before shaking herself out of it and making her way towards the door. A minute later, she’d stepped out, Laura’s enthusiastic “see you later” still reverberating inside her head.

 

Carmilla sighed shakily and shook her head before heading to the dinner hall. She was really, most definitely, screwed.

 

****

 

“Carmilla, are you really sure you know what you’re doing?” Laura asked nervously as the brunette chuckled loudly.

 

The day was really looking up. After their slight argument in the morning, Carmilla had thought that her day with Laura would be more awkward than it was turning out to be. After she’d left the smaller girl in their room to get ready, Carmilla had gone for breakfast with an equal feeling of dread and anticipation coursing through her veins. She’d worried that she’d been too weak in caving, worried that they’d run into Danny or that Laura would change her mind. She’d worried that their day would be uncomfortable at best and downright horrible at worst. Then, as she had waited for the other girl to join her, Carmilla had also worried that they wouldn’t find anything to do or anything to talk about. She’d worried about all of it until Laura had arrived, a bright smile on her face, and had plopped herself down in front of her, chattering away the second she had.

 

Carmilla’s worry had begun to subside then, but it hadn’t gone away. Even when they’d finished eating and had set out, even as Laura continued to chat incessantly, Carmilla had worried. She’d worried right until they’d reached the beach and right until Laura had taken off her flip flops and dug her feet in the sand with a huge sigh of contentment and a pleased little grin. Right until the girl had turned that radiant smile to her and had grabbed her hand to drag her along.

 

The brunette had allowed herself to relax then, to let herself believe that perhaps the day wouldn’t be as awkward or as much of a disaster as she’d feared it to be. The second she’d let some of the tension in her shoulders drop, things had actually started going even better. Laura had brightened, if that was even possible, and her one-sided excited chatter had slowly turned into a conversation.

 

The thing was, Carmilla found it incredibly hard to remain indifferent when Laura Hollis was buzzing around her. There really was something infectious about the girl’s general excitement and enthusiasm. Besides, as friendly as they’d became, that still didn’t stop them from bantering effortlessly which made it all the more easier for Carmilla to feel at ease around the other girl.

 

It was a relief, really, because that meant that it had been completely fine when Carmilla had laughed to the point of tears when, during their walk, Laura had stepped into a hole in the sand, effectively losing her balance only to face-plant right into some kid’s sand castle. And it had also been alright when it had been Laura’s turn to laugh when a volley ball had seared through the sky to clip the brunette behind the head and she’d shouted at the culprits. They’d both ended up giggling together both times, Carmilla trying to look upset, but caving easily enough when Laura pushed her shoulder gently.

 

Perhaps it was because of how comfortable they ended up feeling that Laura eventually asked Carmilla to entertain her.

 

“Excuse me?” the brunette had answered, with a raised eyebrow.

“Entertain me!” Laura had repeated. “Come on, Carm, I’m sure you know how to have _fun_! Actually I _know_ you do! So just show me!”

“So if I understand you correctly, you want me to show you how I have fun?” Carmilla had inquired, a small smirk forming on her lips.

“Yes!”

 

Carmilla hadn’t been able to help herself then. She’d smirked fully and had stepped closer to the other girl before leaning and whispering in her ear.

 

“I thought you’d specifically excluded _that_ from this whole pretend dating arrangement…”

 

She’d stepped back and had enjoyed watching the penny drop in Laura’s expression.

 

“What? I don’t- oh!” She eventually said, her cheeks turning ridiculously red. “I-I- That’s _not_ what I meant!” she’d squeaked in response, stuttering a little.

“I know, cupcake, I was teasing,” Carmilla had answered before laughing heartily.

 

Then, she’d spotted something in the distance and her grin was back.

 

“But now that we’re clear on that, I know exactly _what_ we’re going to do,” she had said mysteriously before setting off.  

 

It was because of that whole interaction that they were now sitting on a rented watercraft, Laura holding onto her nervously.

 

“Don’t worry creampuff. I’m the child of the CEO of a massively successful and wealthy company. Holidays were most often spent either at our lake house or vacationing in some warm countries. My brother and I used to race each other on these all the time. We’ll be _fine_ ,” she reassured.

“Yeah… okay, sure…” Laura mumbled. “I trust you, like totally. I mean, I’ve never been on one of these things and all and maybe my dad used to tell me these _horrible_ stories of freak accidents that can happen on them, like did you know that someone once lost half their face? And survived? But had to float with half a face for ages before they got rescued? Anyway, I’m not saying it’s going to happen or anything, but that kinda freaked me out as a child… But that was then, obviously. I’m fine now, I’m totally completely fi-!” Laura cut herself off with a shriek when Carmilla decided that the best way to shut her up was to shoot the engine forward.

 

The smaller girl’s arms came around her more tightly and Carmilla ignored the warm feeling that spread through her entire torso.

 

“Carmilla!” Laura yelled in her ear. “If you kill us, I’m going to be _really_ upset!”   

 

 The brunette only laughed harder and accelerated. Eventually though, Laura seemed to relax and Carmilla soon realised that she actually found it a lot more enjoyable when the smaller girl was giggling in her ear instead of shrieking.

 

The more comfortable Laura became, the faster Carmilla went, swerving at odd angles and jumping over wave after wave. Laura held onto her as hard as she could, but laughed and shrieked in amusement and even urged her to go faster at one point.

 

They’d been riding for a while when a group of teenagers joined them. Soon enough, they found themselves participating in a race against some bros and if Carmilla had thought the idea would freak out the other girl, she was sorely mistaken. As it turned out, Laura was more than eager to show the boys that they could totally get their ass kicked. She circled Carmilla’s waist entirely with her arms, her hands gripping her forearms on the brunette’s belly and her thighs squeezing around the brunette’s thighs. Then, as if the closeness made her fear proof, she started shouting at Carmilla to drive as fast as she could. Even if the other girl’s heath on her body was entirely too distracting, it didn’t stop the brunette from winning easily. If there was one thing her brother Will had always been, it was competitive. She’d had plenty of racing experience.

 

When they won, Laura was so ecstatic that she stood up on the watercraft throwing her arms in the air. It was stronger than Carmilla then. She reared the engine forward just a little bit so that Laura lost her balance and fell into the water. It wasn’t as if the girl would drown anyway, she _was_ wearing a life jacket after all.

 

When she came out of the water, spluttering, Carmilla only laughed harder. Then, she felt Laura grip her ankle to drag her into the water and chuckled at the girl’s feeble attempt. She ended up in the water anyway, taking the watercraft key out of the engine and jumping in right next to the smaller girl. They swam and floated in the water for a while after that, feeling completely relaxed.

 

Eventually though, they climbed back onto the watercraft and rode a bit more. When they were back on the dock, Carmilla turned to Laura.

 

“Was that entertaining enough for you? Shall I show you other ways to have fun?” she teased, earning a slight shove in response.

“ _No_ ,” Laura answered pointedly with a small smile, grabbing the brunette’s hand and lacing their fingers together. “Thanks for this Carm,” she continued, serious this time. “I mean I _was_ , you know, terrified that you planned to kill me, but… I had a lot of fun in the end, so thanks.”

“Always my pleasure, cupcake,” Carmilla answered with a small grin, squeezing Laura’s hand at the same time.

 

They stared at each other for a few seconds and then Laura’s eyes shifted to the side. She looked back at Carmilla for a moment before unlacing their fingers. Carmilla didn’t have time to be disappointed for long because, as soon as she’d let go, Laura grabbed the brunette’s arm with her other hand and pulled it over her shoulders as the small girl’s free arm snaked around Carmilla’s waist.

 

“Not to sound rude or anything, but may I ask what’s warranting this impromptu cuddling?” Carmilla asked carefully once Laura had snuggled up into her side.

 

The smaller girl didn’t answer, waving at something on Carmilla’s left. The brunette followed the gestures and saw two ladies in their forties waving back happily. She frowned in confusion and turned back to Laura.

 

“They’re in our dance class,” the small girl explained, her lips curved into a fake smile and her eyes still on the ladies. “So pretend this is normal for a minute, okay?”

“Oh, are they?” Carmilla asked, genuinely surprised.

“Yes. You really don’t recognize them?” Laura inquired, finally turning back to look at her.

“No,” Carmilla answered simply as they began to walk away, her arm still slung over Laura’s shoulders.

“You know you should pay better attention to people,” the girl scolded her.

“Caring about people that aren’t us is stupid, poptart,” Carmilla deadpanned.

“You don’t mean that,” Laura shot back immediately, detangling herself from the brunette’s arms.

 

Carmilla instantly felt the loss, but swallowed the feeling and rolled her eyes as they carried on walking.

 

“I do,” she assured.

“You can’t _not_ care about anyone! That’s not _healthy_!” Laura countered.

“Why? I put myself first, I’d say it’s the definition of healthy.”

“Oh my god! You’re full of it! I don’t believe you,” Laura announced.

“Suit yourself, sweetheart,” Carmilla shot back with a shrug, making the smaller girl roll her eyes hard and groan.

“You’re insufferable, you know that?” the smaller girl asked, a very small smile on her lips.

“I do believe I _have_ been told before…” Carmilla answered after pretending to be mulling it over for a second. “By you actually, now that I think about it.”

“Yeah, well, you never do listen to me! Anyway, I’m still calling BS. I know that you care about _some_ people because you care about Lafontaine! Ha! There I’ve got you! You can’t deny that!” Laura exclaimed happily.

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway.

 

“To a certain extent, yes, you could say that,” she admitted as indifferently as she could.

“Annnnnnnd,” Laura continued. “You also care about Perry. You always bring her favourite wine to dinner and such, you _have_ to care.”

“Only as a courtesy to Lafontaine, I assure you. Curly Sue would _not_ get that treatment if she wasn’t my person’s other half,” Carmilla defended.

“Doesn’t matter, you still _ca-are_ ,” Laura sing sang.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I’m _right_ is what you mean! See, I didn’t even have to think about it much and I found people you care about. I’m sure I could find more!” the smaller girl declared confidently.

“Oh yeah, like who?” Carmilla challenged her as Laura stopped walking and faced her.

 

She looked at the brunette up and down before biting her bottom lip.

 

“Well…” Laura began slowly. “I think that… maybe… you care about me as well…” She finished, looking straight into the other girl’s eyes.

 

Coming from anybody else, Carmilla might have thought that the girl was flirting. As it was though, Laura’s eyes held no hint of seduction, just plain openness, curiosity and vulnerability.

 

“Oh? Is that so?” the brunette whispered, never breaking their eye contact. “You sure about that, creampuff?”

“No,” Laura admitted instantly. “But I _think_ you do… Am I wrong? Do you care?”

 

Again, Laura looked at Carmilla with a completely open expression. In that moment, the brunette knew that this wasn’t a play by the other girl, this wasn’t Laura trying to weasel something out of her to use for later. This was just a girl wondering genuinely if she mattered at all to Carmilla.

 

God she had no idea, the brunette thought almost bitterly. It was almost comical, to think that this girl had come to mean so much to Carmilla, yet here she stood, completely clueless. Of course, it wasn’t as if Carmilla was ready to let Laura know otherwise. Or at least, not ready to let her know exactly how much she _did_ care. Still, she also couldn’t let the smaller girl believe that she didn’t care at all. And so she smiled and immediately saw Laura relax.

 

“Maybe I do,” she answered softly and even if it had been said, it was clear to the both of them that the ‘maybe’ was only there to save face, only there so that it didn’t feel too much like a confession on Carmilla’s part.

 

Laura beamed at the words and the brunette’s heart caught in her chest. If this was how Laura reacted when Carmilla admitted she had feelings, maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that she had them at all to begin with.

 

“Oh look over there!” Laura said suddenly, completely breaking the moment. “There’s a small pebble beach! Yes! We can do some stone skipping!”

 

Without another word, the small girl started running towards the spot she’d just pointed at before she stopped herself and turned to look at Carmilla.

 

“Oh and Carm? Maybe I do too,” she said with a shy smile, before turning back again, yelling a last ‘come on’ and setting off at a run.

 

Carmilla watched her go, slightly dumbfounded, with her heart fluttering in her chest. She smiled and followed, feeling quite confident that Laura’s ‘maybe’ had been just as useless as hers.

 

****

 

When Carmilla reached Laura a few seconds later, the other girl already had her hands full of various flat stones and was bent over trying to find more.

 

“There are so many to choose from, Carm!” Laura exclaimed excitedly when the brunette approached. “They’re going to make so many skips, I can _feel_ it!”

 

Carmilla chuckled and looked at her, hands in her pockets, until Laura turned to frown at her.

 

“What are you doing?” The small girl asked her, confusion written all over her face. “Aren’t you choosing your own stones?!”

“I’m not much of a stone skipper, cupcake…” Carmilla explained with a shrug.

“Nonsense!” Laura cried out, almost insulted. “Everyone is a stone skipper! It’s the _best_! Come on, grumpy cat, just pick some and then we can have a competition!” She continued, turning back to her careful stone picking.

 

Carmilla sighed before resigning herself. There really was no point in opposing Laura when she looked this excited about something.

 

Slowly, the brunette looked at the pebbles. They all looked pretty much the same to her. Of course, she could see the different shapes and colours, but it meant nothing. She had no knowledge of what kind of stone was supposed to be better, what kind of stone was supposed to be the most aerodynamic or whatever and so she just began to pick some at random, rolling her eyes when Laura sent her a pleased smile in return.

 

A few minutes later, Laura seemed satisfied enough with her collection and turned her attention back to Carmilla.

 

“You ready to get your ass handed to you by the stone skipping junior champion?” She asked seriously, fire dancing in her eyes.

 

The brunette smirked and raised an eyebrow at the other girl.

 

“Sure... Just, why _junior_ champion?” She asked, mildly confused.

“Oh, uh… It’s just a habit… Because, well, my dad and I used to go every Friday of summer when I was a kid to this lake near our house and he showed me how to skip stones and he always said that _he_ was the stone-skipping champion and so when I became sort of good he started calling me the junior champion…” Laura explained, blushing cutely.

 

Carmilla couldn’t hold back the smile that broke across her face. God Laura was an adorable dork.

 

“Alright then, junior champion,” she answered, amusement apparent in her voice. “Show me those skills you keep bragging about, or I might not believe you.”

“Oh I’m so going to prove you!” Laura answered forcefully.

 

Then, she ran towards the water, kicking her flip flops along the way before stepping onto wet sand. She looked so happy in that moment, that Carmilla wished she could take a picture. Really, with the sun shining on her skin, making her hair paler than usual and her tongue slightly sticking out as she concentrated on lining her first throw, Laura looked stunning. Her pockets were comically full of stones and it looked kind of childish, but it was also ridiculously cute.

 

Laura threw her first stone, carefully and methodically and it skipped 5 times across the water before sinking in.

 

“Yas! 5 skips!” The small girl exclaimed, jumping up and down in happiness before turning towards Carmilla, a huge grin on her lips.

 

 _Beautiful_ , Carmilla thought wilfully. That girl was simply beautiful.

 

“Your turn,” Laura told her, effectively bringing the brunette out of her thoughts.

 

Carmilla sighed, but stepped out of her own flip flops and walked to Laura. She hesitated for a second grabbing one of the stones she’d collected into her hand before throwing it haphazardly. It connected with the water and sunk instantly.

 

“Right…” the brunette grumbled before turning to Laura and seeing her fighting off a smile.

“That was… okay, that was hum…” she tried to say, waving her hands cutely as she looked for words of encouragement.

“I told you I wasn’t a stone skipper…” Carmilla mumbled a bit embarrassed.

“No, no! It’s okay! It was only your first throw! Let’s try again, okay?”

“I don’t think that’s-” Carmilla began before being cut off by the smaller girl.

“Please?”

“Urgh, _fine_ ,” she relented, grabbing another stone.

 

She faced the water and angled her arm to the side before making her second throw. This time, the stone skipped once before sinking. It was better, but nowhere near as good as Laura’s throw had been. Carmilla sighed loudly.

 

“Satisfied?” she asked slightly annoyed as she turned to the smaller girl who wasn’t laughing anymore.

“Carm…” she said softly. “Was that… I mean, have you actually tried to skip stones before?” Laura inquired, looking genuinely curious.

 

Carmilla felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment and clenched her teeth.

 

“Here and there. I think Will and I tried to teach ourselves once, but we weren’t good at it and gave up pretty quickly,” she admitted, not looking at the other girl.

“Oh…” Laura answered slowly. “So hum… your mum never…?” she trailed off.

“Sorry cutie, Mother was more of a provider. Will and I were expected to restrain from disrupting her while she worked and figure out a way to entertain ourselves,” Carmilla explained bitterly, her gaze fixed on the sea.

 

Her mother really hadn’t been one for playing or goofing off. From as early as the brunette could remember, the woman had always been busy with work and preferred not to be disturbed. She hadn’t been especially mean or anything. She’d just been absent mostly. Still, as cold as Mother was and always had been, she _had_ kept them even after her husband’s death. If for nothing else, Carmilla had to be grateful for that. Anywhere had been better than that hellish youth centre she’d been at before anyway. Besides, it wasn’t as if Will and she had ever lacked anything. Really, she couldn’t complain… Even if she did feel a bit lonely at times when she thought about it too much…

 

Carmilla was brought out of her thoughts when she felt Laura take her hand with hers and lace their fingers.

 

“You know…” the small girl began shyly as the brunette looked at her in surprise. “I may not be _the_ champion… but I think my junior title might make me eligible to teach you how to make those stones skips…” she suggested, tucking her bottom lip between her teeth nervously.

“Oh yeah?” Carmilla asked with a raised eyebrow and the beginning of a smirk.

“Yeah well… _Clearly_ , you did a rather poor job of teaching yourself and what kind of person would I be if I didn’t share the knowledge with you now?” Laura shot back with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

 

The brunette observed her for a few seconds before chuckling lightly.

 

“What kind of person, indeed,” she muttered as Laura beamed and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

 

Suddenly, she didn’t feel that lonely anymore.

 

****

 

After their little talk, a good part of the afternoon had been spent with Laura trying to show Carmilla all there was to know about stone skipping. If the brunette had thought it wouldn’t be too long considering that stone skipping couldn’t be _that_ hard, she’d been totally proven wrong. As it was, Laura was _very_ serious about her stone skipping. So serious that her 101 lesson had come with instructions on body posture, rock holding and angle of the throw. Then, Laura had went on about ideal speed and wrist movement. Carmilla had found her intensity hilarious at first, but after what felt like the thousandth comment, she’d had enough.

 

“Okay, Hollis, I’ve had it. We are no longer doing this. You can keep your title and I’m going to be throwing _you_ in the water,” she’d exclaimed before racing after Laura.

 

The small girl had yelped and they’d run around the beach laughing for a moment after that. They’d both ended up in the water eventually, swimming or treading water until it was time to head back to their ship.

 

They were almost there when Carmilla heard a voice behind them.

 

“Laura?!”

 

They both turned around, but Laura definitely spotted the owner of the voice sooner because her eyes widened in recognition and she visibly paled. Carmilla frowned until she too noticed exactly who had called out to the smaller girl.

 

“Mandy…” Laura greeted awkwardly as a giant woman who was none other than the small girl’s ex-girlfriend walked up to them, her eyes solely focusing on Laura, another girl Carmilla assumed was the girl’s current girlfriend staying a little way behind.

 

Carmilla stifled a laugh and took a little step back.

 

“Oh my god, it _is_ you!” Mandy exclaimed loudly.

“It sure is…” the small girl answered with what looked like a painful smile.

 

Honestly, Carmilla was finding it hard not to laugh. Mandy, of course, was oblivious.

 

“Wow, it’s been so long…” Mandy gushed. “I can’t believe I’m running into you here of all places!”

“Yeah… How weird, right?”

“Yeah, totally! Are you on holiday in the Bahamas? Where are you staying?”  Laura’s ex asked, seemingly unaware of how uncomfortable the smaller girl actually was.

“Oh, uh, not exactly… I mean, I _am_ on holiday but not _just_ in the Bahamas,” Laura began slowly, clearly looking for a way out and finding none. “I’m… I’m actually on a cruise,” she finished, looking thoroughly defeated.

“Wait!” Mandy gasped annoyingly, making both Laura and Carmilla cringe. “Are you on that LGBT couple cruise too?! Oh my god who with?!”

 

The second she’d finished asking, Mandy raised her head and started looking around. It barely took a second for her to spot Carmilla. Her eyes widened in shock almost comically when she did.

 

“Hey,” Carmilla half-heartedly greeted, stepping closer again now that Mandy had noticed her.

 

As if latching onto her for courage, Laura grabbed the brunette’s hand, lacing their fingers and giving her ex a tight lipped smile. After a beat or two, the tall girl seemed to wake up from her stupor and she frowned.

 

“Wait… is this a joke?” she asked, disdain written all over her face.

 

Laura closed her eyes as Carmilla rolled hers. If she’d been nice so far, the brunette knew for a fact that it was about to change. Mandy had never really liked her, not that Carmilla cared.

 

“You two? A couple?” Mandy continued regardless. “Yeah, _right_! That’s bullshit!”

“Mandy…” Laura began, before being cut off.

“No, like, this is just not possible,” Mandy said with a scoff. “You two _cannot_ be for real.”

“Babe…” Mandy’s girlfriend spoke up for the first time.

“No, Janice, you don’t get it,” the girl defended looking at her girlfriend for a second before sneering at Laura and Carmilla again. “These two _are not_ together. They’re fucking lying.”

“Watch your mouth Sasquatch,” Carmilla snapped.

 

Laura’s breath hitched beside her and she squeezed Carmilla’s hand in warning.

 

“What did you say to me, bitch?!” Mandy shot back angrily.

 

Carmilla felt like her blood was boiling. She opened her mouth to repeat exactly what she’d said, but Laura spoke up before she did.

 

“Ooookay! Let’s just take this down a notch…” Laura pleaded, clearly uncomfortable as Carmilla and Mandy stared at each other angrily. “Look Mandy, I know this might be a little bit hard to believe, but-”

“Hard to believe?!” Mandy interrupted once more. “I’m not an _idiot_ Laura! I’m not buying your lies! I know you’d _never_ date _her_ ,” she finished, full of venom.

“Well, I _am_!” Laura exclaimed, albeit a bit nervously.

“I don’t believe you,” her ex shot back. “You _hate_ her.”

“Okay, that’s a bit extreme…” Laura mumbled, looking over at Carmilla fretfully.

“You used to go on and on for ages about how she annoyed you!” Mandy accused.

“Well… So perhaps we didn’t really get along back then-”

“That’s an understatement!”

“Will you _stop_ cutting her off, dickwad” Carmilla growled.

 

Mandy opened her mouth to answer, but Laura spoke up again, letting go of Carmilla’s hand as she did to stand in between her and Mandy.

 

“Okay, _not_ helping!” she said loudly with a small scowl at Carmilla.  

 

For her part, the brunette continued to glare at Mandy but didn’t say anything else and neither did the tall girl. Laura waited for a few seconds and when she saw that both girls were silent, she turned her attention back to her ex and continued.

 

“Okay. Right. Look, I know the idea of me and Carmilla might be a bit hard for you to believe, but it is what it is. Sure, we didn’t get along for a long time, but we worked it out and realised we’d been making a ton of silly assumptions and once we realised that, well, we sort of fell for each other, okay?” she clearly invented on the spot.

 

Carmilla had to admit that she was kind of impressed by the small girl’s improvisation. Of course, it would have been a lot more impressive if it didn’t ring so true for Carmilla herself.

 

“Is that so unbelievable?” Laura continued. “I mean, why would we even be lying about this? For what purpose?”  

 

Mandy opened and closed her mouth a few times, clearly trying to find a decent answer and Carmilla saw Laura visibly relax beside her.

“Look, it doesn’t matter _why_. I’m sure you guys have your little reason,” Mandy answered, angry and unwavering. “What I _do_ know is that I’m not buying this little couple act you guys are putting on! You guys are frauds!” she accused.

“Fraud?” Laura repeated, visibly shaken. “No, no! There’s no fraud! We’re… in love!” she proclaimed with a hint of hesitation.

 

 Carmilla’s heart thumped loudly in her ribcage, half in excitement and nerves about Laura’s declaration of love and half in pain at the fact that the girl was only pretending.  

 

“How can I believe you?! Laura, you _know_ what you used to say about her when we were dating!”

 

Laura squirmed a little at her ex’s words. It was clear that she had no desire for Mandy to repeat any of what she’d apparently said. Of course, Mandy was undeterred.

 

“You said you’d never met someone as vulgar or disrespectful. You’d go on and on about how you didn’t understand how anyone could develop a shred of interest in her and how that whole mysterious, belle dame sans merci vibe she had going on was the epitome of childish. God, you even said on several occasions that you found her completely repulsive! That you wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole or even if she was the last woman on earth!” the tall girl started relating.

 

The longer she spoke, the more Carmilla’s heart ached. Was that really how Laura felt about her? Had she really said all those things about her?

 

Probably, Carmilla reasoned. After all, they really _hadn’t_ gotten along and she _had_ enjoyed annoying the other girl thoroughly. Still, hearing it said out loud like this was rather painful.

 

“And that’s not even taking into account how you _tried_ to explain her behaviour!” Mandy continued, either oblivious of Laura’s distressed look or not caring. “What was it you used to say, Laur? That she had no feelings? What was it again? ‘Either she’s got more issues than vogue or she’s actually so damaged that she’s completely unsalvageable.’ I mean, that’s a little more than ‘not getting along’ don’t you think? Christ! There was also that time, right after your Halloween party when-”

“Mandy stop!” Laura cried out. “Just, just _stop_!” she repeated, turning to send a worried look at Carmilla who wasn’t moving anymore, trying to keep her face as stoic as she could.

 

Laura stepped closer to the brunette, her face contorted in concern. She reached a hand forward as if to touch Carmilla, but retracted it as if she didn’t dare anymore. Then, she turned back to Mandy looking angry.

 

“Why would you say all those things?!” she asked incredulously.

“Are you denyi-” Mandy started to say, before Laura cut her off.

“That’s not the point! Seriously, why would you say those things?” the small girl said, before calming down a little. “Maybe you think you’re proving your point by repeating some of the _awful_ things I said about Carm in those moments I was particularly mad at her, but you’re _not_. All you’re doing is hurting us. And you know what? I was _wrong_.”

 

Laura turned to look at Carmilla again and this time she did grab her hand, even if she still looked terrified.

 

“I was so _so_ wrong about you Carm… I’m… I’m so _sorry_ ,” she whispered.

 

Carmilla looked into her eyes then and felt the pressure in her chest slowly dissipate at how sincere the smaller girl looked. For a moment, it didn’t look like Laura was pretending, it didn’t look like the lines she’d been feeding Mandy from the beginning of the encounter. It felt real and the pain in Carmilla’s heart eased. Laura smiled sheepishly at her and turned her attention back to Mandy.

 

“Turns out I was a complete idiot and I had it all wrong,” she explained. “Carmilla is full of feelings and complex and intelligent and such a _beautiful_ person… She didn’t let me see all that before, but now I do and it’s blinding. Sure she still annoys me sometimes, but she also makes me think and she makes me laugh and I just…” Laura stopped for a moment to look into Carmilla’s eyes. “You really are beautiful, you know? Inside and out,” she whispered, her cheeks slightly flushed.

 

Carmilla couldn’t look anywhere else. Was this sincere too? Did Laura mean all this or was she just back to pretending? Did Laura really think that she was a beautiful person or was she exaggerating for Mandy’s sake? Carmilla wasn’t sure, but she knew that it still _felt_ real, felt as if perhaps Laura really did believe every single word she’d just said, really believed that Carmilla was beautiful and more.

 

Without thinking about it, the brunette found herself taking a step closer to Laura and bringing her free hand to brush aside a lock of the girl’s fringe.

 

“Not merely as beautiful as you…”she muttered truthfully, forgetting for a moment that they weren’t supposed to have real feelings for each other.

 

She meant it regardless. Laura looked at her and blinked slowly, as if lost in a daze and Carmilla moved to place a soft kiss on her cheekbone. She was just wondering if she’d imagined the small girl shivering at the touch when Mandy cleared her throat loudly.

 

“Okay, so you guys wanna _really_ play this? _Fine_! I know a way you can prove to me that you’re being sincere!” the girl challenged.

“We don’t need to prove anything to you,” Carmilla retorted sharply.

“You _will_ if you don’t want me telling the captain that there’s no way you guys are a couple.” Mandy shot back just as sharply.

 

Carmilla clenched her teeth to stop herself from antagonizing the woman further. She almost lost control though when Mandy looked at her smugly in response.

 

“Anyway, as I was saying, if you guys really wanna prove that this whole thing is genuine, then I suggest you join me and Janice tomorrow,” she continued.

“Join you for what?” Laura demanded.

 

The tall girl smirked devilishly and Carmilla could tell right then that whatever she had in mind wouldn’t be good.

 

“Tomorrow we’re at sea, so the crew has organized a little game show type of thing for all couples who wish to participate.”

“A game show?”

“Yes. Actually, it’ll be like the game show Newlywed, only, you don’t have to be married to enter. Surely if you guys are the real deal you won’t mind joining? After all, if you love each other so much, why not show it to as many people on that boat as possible?”

 

Carmilla remained straight faced and she saw Laura gulp beside her.

 

“Okay,” Laura shot back, lifting her chin high defiantly. “If you’re too distrustful to take our word for it then fine. We’ll enter that game of yours and compete against you. And when we _beat_ you, you’ll have to believe us.”

“We’ll see about that…” Mandy answered still looking smug.

 

Carmilla really wanted to punch the smirk right off her face.  

 

“See you tomorrow then. I’m sure it’ll be _very_ entertaining,” Mandy finally said before stalking off with her girlfriend in tow.

 

Laura let out a deep sigh when she was far enough.

 

“Well shoot…” she mumbled. “I guess now we practice?” she inquired awkwardly as Carmilla sighed internally.

 

Tomorrow would be entertaining indeed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is that. For those who don't know what Newlywed is, you have time to google, but it's the typical kind of game where you ask one partner to answer a set of questions and they write them on cards and then during the show the other partner gets asked the same questions and has to match wtv is on the card. Of course, there very well may be a twist ;-)
> 
> Ahhhh Mandy, don't we just love her :P
> 
> If you guys really wanted Carm and Laura to have to really play the fake couple, you will be pleased with the next chapter!
> 
> Anyhow, thanks for reading, leave a comment if you're so inclined! Honestly, it's always great to know what you guys liked or didn't like about the chapter! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr at mmekeeklovescarmilla, by the way. I'm always available for questions of any kind! ¸
> 
> Have a great day, Thanks again for reading!  
> MM xx


	14. Chapter 13: You reap what you sow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS!!  
> This took a LOT more time than I ever imagined it would. I mean, I understand how many thought at some point that I had abandoned the story altogether. I have never. The thing is... Life is life is life and we all our issues and our difficulties and without going into details, I was busy at times and dealing with personal stuff at others. But I never abandoned this story, never considered abandoning it. So yeah.  
> You guys have been so extremely patient, I can only thank you all for the continued support and love. I've gotten so many lovely messages and every single one serves to motivate me to write more.  
> This chapter is fairly long. Almost 17K actually. I hope the length (and the content) makes up at least partially for the wait. Thanks to my Betas for being the absolute best and going through all that text! You guys are the best!!  
> Enjoy!

**Chapter 13: You reap what you sow**

 

Apparently, liking Laura Hollis and finding her infuriatingly annoying were not mutually exclusive. At least that’s what Carmilla had surmised very shortly after they’d left Mandy by the docks.

 

Carmilla had first thought that things would go back to normal after the tall girl’s departure. She had thought that Laura and she would go about their evening as they always did. She’d thought that they would do the silly competition thing the next day and that would be it. Plain and simple. Carmilla knew now though that she’d been sorely mistaken to ever think it would be that easy.

 

Barely a minute after they lost sight of Mandy in the crowd, Laura turned to her with panic flashing in her eyes. Carmilla shrugged in response and started walking away, but Laura grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her back.

 

“Where are you going?” she asked, sounding just as panicked as she actually looked.

“Well I was going back on board and then to dinner, but from the look on your face I take it you had something different in mind,” Carmilla answered slowly.

“Yes!” Laura exclaimed before frowning a little. “Well, the dinner part is fine I guess…” she mumbled to herself before continuing. “Anyway, how are you so calm right now?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Okay, seriously!?” Laura cried out, throwing her hands in the air. “Mandy is totally onto us in case you hadn’t noticed and she’s threatening to go to the captain! That’s like _the_ thing we’ve been dreading since the beginning of this cruise! I think that qualifies as freak out material!”

“Relax, cupcake,” Carmilla shot back with an eye roll. “It’s not like she has any proof that we’re lying. Besides, she’s not going to the captain just yet. We still have that stupid game thing tomorrow before she makes a move.”

“Yes exactly!” Laura exclaimed. “That’s why I asked where you were going!”

“I’m not sure I’m following your neurosis, sweetheart. How are my evening plans connected to tomorrow’s imbecilic game we got ourselves enrolled in?”

“Because we need to prepare!” the small girl shouted as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

 

Carmilla, for her part, regarded her as if she’d suddenly grown a second head.

 

“Prepare? What for?” the brunette asked with a sneer.

“Weren’t you listening at all?! I _just_ said! Mandy is _onto us_! She’ll be looking for every opportunity to prove that we’re not together and, in case you’ve forgotten, she’s actually dated me so she kinda knows how I am in a relationship!” Laura explained exasperatedly.

“Urgh, please don’t remind me that you dated that _thing_. It’s bad enough that I had to _see_ it then, I don’t need to think about it _now_ ,” Carmilla said with a grimace. “Seriously, cupcake, how you dated someone as unattractive as she is unpleasant is beyond me. You could have had anyone and yet you chose her. It always baffled me,” she continued only aware of _how_ complimentary it had all sounded once the words were out.

 

Laura stared at her with wide eyes and her mouth slightly opened for a few seconds and Carmilla felt herself recoil. She was _such_ a creampuff. It had only been a few days since she had started to like Laura and she was already sounding like a smitten idiot.

 

“What?” she snapped a bit too aggressively when Laura continued to stare in silence for a tad too long.

“Sorry,” the small girl mumbled with a blush appearing on her cheeks. “I just… I expected an insult and I think you just complimented me.”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Carmilla grumbled with an eye roll.

“No, right. Anyway! My _point_ was that we need to prepare for tomorrow because Mandy will undoubtedly know that we’re faking if we don’t prepare enough!” Laura said as she snapped herself out of her surprise.

 

Carmilla rolled her eyes yet again.

 

“We’ve known each other for _six years_ Laura, I think we can handle a ridiculous game on a holiday cruise without the need to spend our evening preparing for it.”

“ _No, we can’t_!” Laura pressed.

“You’ve already made me play 20 questions once on this cruise, I’m _not_ doing it again,” Carmilla all but growled.

“I’m not asking you to!” Laura barked back. “But we need to figure some things out or Mandy will realize we were bluffing and rat us out to the captain!”

“Let her,” Carmilla shot back with a shrug. “It’ll be her word against ours. Why would the captain believe her over us?”

“Is that really a risk you’re willing to take?!”

“If it keeps me from spending an excruciating evening with you then _yes_ ,” Carmilla answered harshly.

 

Laura visibly flinched at her words and Carmilla softened instantly. _Such_ a creampuff.

 

“Look,” she began with a much more pleasant tone. “I just don’t see the point. We already know quite a fair amount about each other and what we don’t know would only appear normal. Couples _don’t_ know every single detail about each other after all, that’s the appeal of such games.”

“I know _that_! But couples usually know what their first date was or when was the first time they kissed or slept with each other!” Laura pressed, a blush covering her cheeks at the mere mention of sex.

 

Carmilla’s heart fluttered restlessly in her chest at the mental image that came with the other girl’s words, but pushed it instantly at the back of her mind. Now was not the time to dwell on such fantasies.

 

“We can always improvise _if_ such questions come into play. It’s worked so far for us, hasn’t it?”

“Yeah, but no one actually knew enough to challenge what we presented them… Carm, I’m not _trying_ to be difficult, but this is the first time we might actually have to really _play_ the fake couple thingy. When it’s just strangers, of course we can act however we want and they can’t question it because they don’t know better. Mandy _does_. She saw us bicker more often than we can probably both remember and that’s really not helping. We _need_ to get our stories straight in order to make this completely believable.”

 

As much as Carmilla didn’t want to give it to her, the other girl did have a point. It was easy enough to get away with everything when no one knew them. So what if they fought fairly often? So what if they weren’t that cuddly, only sharing glances, careful touches and cheek kisses every other day? It didn’t matter when no one knew them enough to find that odd. But Laura was right. Mandy _did_ know better. Mandy knew _them_ , knew how awful their relationship had been for so long. Mandy also knew _Laura_ and, from what Carmilla herself had observed, knew that Laura was exactly the kind of girl who was cuddly and affectionate in a relationship. They really _would_ have to play it up a little from what they’d been doing if they wanted Mandy to believe they were a couple. Furthermore, Mandy would no doubt be listening for any information regarding exactly _how_ they’d gotten together. Since she clearly didn’t believe it to be real, she’d most likely latch onto any incoherent detail. Laura was therefore right and it would be better for them to get their stories in order. Right or not, it didn’t mean Carmilla liked it any better.

 

“Urgh, _okay_ ,” she said anyway, rolling her eyes when Laura beamed in answer.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” Laura exclaimed almost jumping up and down. “Oh my god we have so much ground to cover, first-”

“Okay, _no_!” Carmilla cut her off. “We are doing this, _sure_ , but _first_ we eat. I’m starving and, honestly, it’s making me a little grumpy. Besides, I think I might need a bottle of wine or two to get through this, so let’s go,” she explained, taking off without waiting for Laura’s response.

“Ha!” Laura called out with a short laugh. “As if you need anything other than _being awake_ to be grumpy!” she finished with a smile, knocking her shoulder into Carmilla’s gently.

 

Carmilla glared at her as Laura continued to smile sweetly.

 

“You know what? Make that 3 bottles of wine,” she grumbled.

 

Laura burst out laughing and looped her arm through Carmilla’s and as much as she kept glaring and grumbling, Carmilla had to admit that perhaps the evening wouldn’t be too bad.

 

******

 

Dinner was a simple enough affair. True to her words, Carmilla ordered a few bottles of wine, but for all the whining she’d done earlier, she ended up sharing the bottles with Laura as they ate. All in all, it was an altogether lovely dinner.

 

Actually, it was almost a bit too lovely for Carmilla’s already smitten heart. They talked and laughed and joked and the more they did, the more it seemed to Carmilla like there was actually sunshine coming out of Laura’s eyes. Laura laughed with her head thrown back and a hand on her belly and Carmilla couldn’t stop staring because she truly was breathtaking.

 

At the end of dinner, there was still wine left so they brought it back with them to the room. Carmilla was feeling pleasantly wined, but not to the point of actually feeling the alcohol much. Laura on the other end seemed a bit tipsy, her cheeks red and her lips purple from the wine. She seemed in a great mood though and Carmilla didn’t think she was too far gone that she’d be sick or forget the evening.

 

Carmilla was convinced that Laura was nowhere near that bad when they made it to their stateroom and the smaller girl jumped around until she had gathered a pad of paper and different coloured pens. She kicked off her shoes then and settled on the floor, her back resting on the end of their bed.

 

Carmilla looked at her questioningly until Laura patted the spot beside her invitingly. Carmilla scoffed and rolled her eyes, but went to sit all the same. It was hard to keep her grumpy facade up when Laura was looking at her with such a lovely smile.

 

“What’s all this,” she asked, pointing at the pad and pens to distract herself from Laura’s smile.

“Huh? Oh uh, those are to keep track of our story!” Laura explained.

“You’re going to write it down?” the brunette asked dubiously.

“Of course! It’ll be much easier to keep track of everything if it’s written down!”

“And may I ask why there seems to be so many different coloured pens?”

“That’s to colour-code the whole thing, duh!” the small girl said as if it was obvious while Carmilla cringed.

“Don’t you think you might be overdoing it a little, sweetheart?” she asked.

“ _No_! It’s necessary! Look, blue is for general events, red is for major relationship development, green can be for how I was feeling at that particular moment in time and black can be your feelings! Oh, I also have a yellow pen for any information that doesn’t fit the other colours!”

 

Laura beamed at Carmilla after her explanation as if she was waiting for the brunette to compliment her on her genius idea. As it was, Carmilla was having a hard time remaining serious. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do more though, laugh or leave. She knew she’d already pretty much agreed to do this scheming thing, but Laura really was pushing it to another level and Carmilla wasn’t sure she was ready for that at all.

 

“I think I should have bought more wine…” she groaned as a response, taking a long swig directly from the bottle.

 

Laura snorted and knocked their shoulders together gently.

 

“Come on grumpy, I promise it’s not gonna be that bad,” Laura assured her before she grabbed the bottle from Carmilla’s hands and took a large gulp herself.

 

She scrunched her face cutely as the alcohol hit her tongue and wiped her mouth on her forearm as she put the bottle back down. Then, she turned her stare on Carmilla again and sent her the softest of smiles before asking in an equally soft voice:

 

“So… How did we fall in love?”

 

Carmilla’s whole insides fluttered and she took another sip of wine to calm her racing heart. Laura could _not_ look at her like _that_ while she asked her that kind of question.

 

“I don’t know sweetheart,” Carmilla heard herself answer rather hoarsely. “Why don’t you tell me?”

 

Laura stared at her in silence and bit her bottom lip. Carmilla’s eyes looked down of their own accord and she gulped slowly. Rationally, she knew she’d been closer to Laura before than she was now, but it didn’t feel that way. Maybe it was the wine, maybe it was the conversation, but whatever it was, it felt heavy. And Carmilla simply wasn’t ready for it.

 

“Clearly you just couldn’t resist my magnetic charm any longer,” she joked, turning her stare away.

 

She heard Laura scoff beside her and mumble a small ‘as if’ and Carmilla knew then that whatever moment they’d been having, she’d just ruined it. It was okay, Carmilla told herself, swallowing the lump in her throat. It was safer this way.

 

****

 

If Carmilla’s comment had caused a slight moment of awkwardness, it didn’t last very long. Not even a full minute later, Laura had cleared her throat and carried on as if nothing had been said at all. She’d put on a serious face and had apparently set her mind to the task. So much so that within a few minutes, she’d already proposed several different scenarios, each one wackier than the next.

 

“We happened to attend the same work Christmas party.”

“I’d probably just avoid you.”

 

“Maybe we got locked together in a bank during a black out?”

“I think you watch too much TV, Chandler.”

 

“Oh! We could say that we got stuck together after hours in a department store and just had to get to know each other?”

“In what world does that even happen?”

 

“How about you simply realised how amazing I was and asked me on a date?”

“Not a chance in hell, cutie.”

 

In the end, after Laura had suggested just about every romantic movie cliché she could think of, they had managed to find a scenario that at least sounded plausible.

 

“Okay, so, we were both invited to a pompous party at Laf and Perry’s with mostly our friends’ coworkers and since neither of us knew anyone else, we kinda got talking,” Laura recapped slowly.

“Only after we both spent most of the night avoiding each other,” Carmilla reminded her with a small smile.

“Only after we both spent most of the night avoiding each other,” Laura repeated diligently. “And we got talking because…” she continued, scrunching her nose cutely when she couldn’t remember the exact context they’d agreed on.

“Because we both thought the crowd to be insufferable and just so happened to seek refuge from the party in the same location,” Carmilla provided easily.

 

It wasn’t even hard for her to remember their elaborate cover story. She could see it clearly. In the fantasy they’d created, Laura and she had ended up avoiding the unpleasant soirée by escaping to the roof of their friend’s building. It had been decided that Carmilla had fled first, finding her way up by climbing the fire escape on their friend’s balcony with a bottle of whisky. Laura had followed unwittingly, perhaps an hour later and had found the brunette sitting astride the concrete ledge of the rooftop, her head turned towards the stars and the bottle of whisky a third gone.

 

Carmilla could see the scene. She could imagine herself turning around at the sound of a person coming. She could also imagine her disappointment at seeing Laura emerge from the darkness. She really could see it. Laura’s equally disappointed glare and both of their silent reluctance to be in the other’s company.

 

“You can stay if you don’t talk,” Carmilla had said, half teasing and half taunting.

 

Laura had rolled her eyes, but decided to join regardless. She had sat beside Carmilla in silence, her legs dangling off the ledge.

 

Both Laura and Carmilla had agreed that they wouldn’t have talked for a while. Then, after minutes of actual silence, they’d figured Carmilla would have been decent enough to offer Laura some of the whisky and they would have ended up sharing it.  

 

“I think I would have said something about my dad never letting me sit anywhere near empty spaces as a kid and then… maybe we got talking?” Laura had suggested when they’d come up with that scenario.

 

Carmilla had hummed in response and had let the real Laura actually tell her about her dad’s overprotectiveness. They’d forgotten everything about their scenario then and had delved into reality. Laura had talked about her dad and Carmilla had listened, teasing her here and there when the situation called for it.

 

It was so easy for her to visualise the fake scenario when she could spend such an easy evening with Laura in real life as well. She could see the conversation on the rooftop. How could she not when they were basically having it in their stateroom? They were on a cruise and they were drinking wine instead of whisky, but there wasn’t much else different.

 

“What do you think should happen then?” Laura asked quietly, bringing Carmilla back to the present.

“After we start having a decent conversation?” she asked.

 

Laura nodded and Carmilla shrugged.

 

“I don’t know cupcake, what do you think should happen?” she questioned.

“I don’t know, I mean… I think… I think we’d need to kiss,” Laura admitted, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

“Really?” Carmilla asked, genuinely surprised. “And you really think it’s plausible that we’d kiss after one evening of civil conversation?”

“Well…” Laura began slowly, still very much blushing. “If the mood was right… Like… maybe you said something about the stars… probably something super philosophy major‑y and depressing knowing you. Like something about how vast the universe is and insignificant we are or whatever,” she finished offhandedly.

“Gee, creampuff, you think so highly of me. You know I actually find that it’s comforting to think how small we are in comparison. All the lives we’ve led, the people we’ve been. Nothing to that light,” Carmilla said in a whisper.

“Oh that’s perfect! Total philosophy major-y with a slight depressive tone!” Laura shot back with a chuckle.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Carmilla said pointedly. “I’d say something about the stars? That would do it for you?” Carmilla asked with a smirk, steering the conversation back to their fantasy story.

“Right… I mean… It _is_ kinda romantic. Oh! Maybe it started raining?” Laura suggested.

“Star gazing on a rooftop and/or impromptu rain? And perhaps then I pulled you impossibly closer for a sweet yet passionate kiss that made you see fireworks? You really do like your trashy romance novels, Hollis,” Carmilla teased.

“Hey! I don’t read _trashy romance novels_ … I read totally legitimate works of fiction written by amateur artists and self-published on the net…” Laura replied defensively with a blush on her cheeks. “Anyway, so perhaps no rain. But a starry night sky with a surprisingly good conversation and some alcohol. Don’t you think we would have kissed? I mean, it sounds romantic to me…”

 

Carmilla looked at Laura and swallowed the lump in her throat. If only the other girl knew. Yes, Carmilla did think they would have kissed if such a situation had presented itself. Yet again, she also wanted to kiss the girl now, so perhaps her judgment was a bit biased.

 

“Perhaps we would have,” Carmilla answered eventually.

 

Laura nodded slowly before blinking a few times as if bringing herself out of a dream.

 

“Yes right. Anyway, I kinda think we would have needed to kiss or something for us to actually go on a date afterwards or hang out or whatever. Because if it was just a nice chat I… Well it sounds completely silly to me now that I know you better, but I think that then I’d have thought that the one night of fun in your company was a fluke. And I just don’t think it would have led to us dating,” Laura explained.

 

Carmilla nodded. Laura did have a fair point.

 

“Alright then so we kissed and it led to us suggesting to hang out again. Cue in the romantic musical montage and that’s it. We’ve got our story figured out,” Carmilla said.

“That is _not_ it!” Laura exclaimed instantly. “We’ve got to figure out what and when was our first date!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Carmilla groaned in answer as Laura giggled in answer.

“Cheer up, grumpy! It’s not even that bad. Secretly, you’re loving it,” Laura teased, bumping her shoulder against the other girl.

“Hardly,” Carmilla mumbled trying to appear annoyed, but failing miserably.

 

She couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on her face and she couldn’t hide it either. She didn’t particularly want to keep imagining the intricate scenarios of their fake relationship, but with Laura smiling and laughing by her side, Carmilla couldn’t help, but think that the girl had been right. It really wasn’t all that bad.

 

****

 

The rest of the planning had gone quickly enough and before Carmilla knew it, they’d had it all figured out. It wasn’t anything fancy. As a matter of fact, Carmilla’s prediction that it would resemble a romantic movie montage had been dead on. They’d hung out at first, eventually moving on to a point where they’d admitted that their outings really were dates. From then on, it had progressed naturally to the point where they couldn’t deny their feelings and had begun dating officially.

 

After they’d figured that out, Carmilla had genuinely thought that they’d be done. So when Laura had announced that she’d be quizzing Carmilla next, the brunette had been completely taken aback. She’d whined and complained, but then Laura had grabbed the wine and declared that Carmilla would only be allowed to drink when she gave her good answers. The brunette had complained some more, but had eventually relented. There had to be something about the smaller girl’s smile because Carmilla was finding herself caving into Laura’s desires more often than not these days.

 

The quiz in itself hadn’t been that bad. As it turned out, Carmilla had a fairly good memory and it hadn’t been all that difficult for her to repeat to Laura the details of their elaborate scenario. Eventually, Laura had even let them drop the subject altogether and they’d simply continued to hang out on the floor of their stateroom.

 

By the time they’d finally gone to bed, they had both been thoroughly exhausted and sleep had taken them within seconds of lying down.

 

The morning unfortunately had seemed to come just as quickly. If Carmilla had thought they’d have a quiet and relaxing morning after staying up late the night before, Laura had proven her wrong the second she’d woken up. Carmilla barely had time to mutter a small ‘hi’ before Laura was out of bed and running around the room frantically while talking nervously about the stupid game show. Carmilla had tried to calmed her down, had _tried_ to tell her they had plenty of time, but the smaller girl had heard none of it.

 

She’d insisted that they needed to find where the game show would be held and at what time and how to enter. Apparently, Laura was terrified that if they waited before looking up the information they’d simply miss the game and then Mandy would think they’d chickened out of doing it and talk to the captain. Carmilla had tried to reason that they could at least have breakfast first, but Laura hadn’t even agreed to that.

 

So instead of the quiet morning Carmilla had envisioned, she’d found herself being dragged around the ship until Laura had successfully located someone that could tell her everything she wanted to know. Once they’d been done with all that, Laura had agreed to go to breakfast only to find out that they’d taken so long that the buffet was closed. Needless to say, Carmilla hadn’t been pleased.

 

They parted then because as much as Carmilla could like Laura, she had wanted nothing more than to strangle her in that moment. Especially when Laura had shouted after her that they ought to practice some more. She’d left without turning back even as Laura huffed annoyingly in the distance.

 

After that, Carmilla spent the rest of her morning wandering around the ship, ruminating about how hungry she was. Once she had lunch though, she automatically calmed down. That newfound calmness was all she needed to start looking for Laura. She’d been looking around the ship for over half an hour when Carmilla accepted the fact that she just wouldn’t find Laura before they were due for the game show.  

 

The brunette wondered if the smaller girl was still angry with her and actually avoiding her as she looped around the main hall for a second time. She knew Laura was nervous about that whole game and Mandy thing, but surely she hadn’t _seriously_ expected to go over their story a few more times today? Even as she asked herself, Carmilla realised that Laura very much could have expected exactly that and that it was therefore totally possible that she was mad at Carmilla for bailing on her.

 

She’d just have to make up for it at the actual game, Carmilla figured, because she was out of time. The game show would start very soon and the contestants were expected to arrive a bit earlier.

 

With a sigh and the hope that Laura wouldn’t be _too_ mad, Carmilla made her way to where the stupid game would be held. It was time to put this pathetic show on the road.

 

****

 

Carmilla could not stop scowling. She’d known deep down when they’d gotten enrolled into that whole game show thing that it would be an absolute farce, but she hadn’t expected it to be quite this bad.

 

Okay, so perhaps she was exaggerating a little. The event wasn’t exactly _that_ horrible, but seriously, Carmilla hadn’t expected it would be this big.

 

When she’d made her way to the room earlier, all Carmilla had been thinking about was Laura and whether or not the other girl would be pissed at her. When she’d finally found her, it hadn’t taken long for Carmilla to realise that Laura did indeed seem a bit pissed at her.

 

She was pretty sure at least because the moment Carmilla had entered the room, her eyes had met with Laura’s for about half a second before the smaller girl had turned back around with a frown. She’d walked to the girl nonetheless and when her simple ‘hey’ hadn’t been answered, she’d groaned and rolled her eyes at Laura’s childishness.

 

She hadn’t bothered adding anything and Laura had continued her petulant silence right until Mandy had walked into the room. When the girl’s ex had appeared, Laura had instantly traded her sullen expression for one of defiance, staring angrily at Mandy as she grabbed Carmilla’s hand with her own, lacing their fingers together.

 

“I thought you were too displeased with me to engage in such display of affection, sweetheart,” Carmilla had grumbled.

“I’m still mad,” Laura had retorted. “But Mandy is here so… Now’s as good a time as any to bury the hatchet and appear in love…”

“It was _one_ _morning_ ,” Carmilla had said exasperatedly and silence had befallen them again afterwards.

 

They’d kept hand holding, but they were obviously still both annoyed at each other. A fact that seemed to please Mandy if the smug grins she kept sending them were anything to go by.

 

Carmilla had still been in a rather foul mood when someone from the cruise had met with them in the small room and began explaining how the game show would work. It was simple enough. They were five couples participating and there was to be three separate rounds to test the couples. Each round was different and kept as a surprise from the contestants. They were to learn what they consisted of as the game’s host explained it to the entire crowd. There would be someone counting the points with them on stage and that was about it.

 

After explaining, the guy had given them all big flashy heart-shaped name tags to wear and Carmilla should have realised then how tacky the whole thing would be.

 

Once everyone had put on their stupid name tags, the man whose name Carmilla hadn’t paid attention to had led them to another, bigger room where the actual game show would take place. The second they’d stepped through the threshold, Carmilla had stopped abruptly.

 

She’d been standing there for a few minutes now, just taking it all in. She was beginning to think that the scowl would be stuck permanently on her face.

 

She wasn’t sure what was worse. The fact that there was an actual stage at the back of the room didn’t help at all, but Carmilla was fairly sure that the whole decor was perhaps slightly more horrifying. On the stage were five big red loveseats with big heart-shaped cardboard cut outs behind each one. The names of each couple were written inside the hearts with the amount of time each had been together. A false one year and a half was written beside hers and Laura’s names. There was another seat, presumably for the host slightly more to the front on one side of the stage and a big chart board on the other side with a column for each couple. If that wasn’t enough, there was a big banner tacked to the front of the stage decorated with sparkles and the words ‘Love is a game that two can play and both win’ painted on. Honestly, the whole thing was making Carmilla’s skin crawl.

 

“Alright ladies! Take your seats,” cruise-man said excitedly, bringing Carmilla out of her thoughts. “The public should arrive soon and the game will begin! Have fun,” he told them before leaving.

“Not fucking likely,” Carmilla mumbled angrily as she followed Laura to their loveseat.

 

Carmilla sat beside Laura, instantly crossing her arms on her chest. She honestly couldn’t believe she was in this situation at all. She was going to kill Lafontaine when she came back home for ever setting her up with this farce of a cruise. That is, if Lafontaine didn’t die on their own of laughter when they’d hear the story.

 

Carmilla wasn’t sure how long they waited for the game to begin, but it felt like ages to her. Laura was sitting completely still next to her, looking about half as uncomfortable as Carmilla felt. She kept sending her nervous glances as if she was expecting Carmilla to lose it and storm off at any moment. Admittedly, the thought was tempting. However tempting though, Carmilla remained seated and bid her time.

 

When most of the audience had filtered into the room and sat, the game was finally ready to begin. Carmilla actually wished it hadn’t begun at all when the game’s host, a tall man with an old, dark purple suit, came onto the stage, greeting the audience happily and announced that it was time to get in the mood. Carmilla particularly wished she could be just about anywhere else when it appeared that ‘the mood’ would be set by the world’s single most trite song ‘love will keep us together’.

 

The first notes reverberated into the room and the audience immediately began clapping. When the lyrics began, the idiots in stride began singing along. Some of the contestants were singing too, Carmilla noticed, but she’d be caught dead before she participated in such a moronic display. Her jaw was actually starting to hurt from how tightly she was clenching her teeth and she was fairly sure that the shape of her fingers would be indented into her arms once she released her hold on them. She was so entirely embarrassed, words could scarcely describe it. Laf would never let her forget this.

 

“I will be there to share forever, Love will keep us togeeeeeether”

 

Carmilla was seriously considering how screwed they’d be if she just walked out when she felt a hand on her thigh. She turned her head and her eyes locked with Laura’s apologetic ones and instantly Carmilla felt herself relax. She uncrossed her arms and found Laura’s hand. Without a second thought, they laced their fingers together and Laura squeezed her hand sympathetically. Carmilla was still ridiculously humiliated, but with Laura’s hand in hers it was, at the very least, painfully bearable.

 

When the dreadful song finally ended, Carmilla breathed a bit better. Of course, when the host stood up excitedly and greeted the audience like it was the best day of his life, her scowl immediately returned.

 

The host continued to speak, but Carmilla didn’t listen to a word. She was too busy controlling her temper to even attempt to appear like she cared. So naturally, when the host, whose name Carmilla didn’t know any more than she’d known that of the other guy, turned to her expectantly, the brunette had no clue what it was about. Luckily for her, Laura _had_ been listening and giggled nervously before taking over.

 

“We met through mutual friends ages ago,” began. “And actually we couldn’t stand each other at first, but we eventually got it right, right babe?” Laura finished before sending Carmilla a tight-lipped smile.

“Right,” the brunette responded automatically with the most insincere smile that had probably ever graced her lips.

 

She saw Laura’s eyes widen and felt her grip tighten as the host uttered something and moved on to the other couples.

 

“Could you be any less helpful?” Laura muttered angrily through gritted teeth.

“Oh I certainly could,” Carmilla whispered back just as angrily. “Care for me to demonstrate?” she spat sarcastically.

 

Laura snapped her hand back in response and crossed her arms on her chest with a huff as Carmilla glowered at her. It was going to be a long afternoon.

 

*****       

 

The introduction of each couple went by without Laura and Carmilla even looking in each other’s direction. Carmilla didn’t care much. Honestly, the longer this whole thing was taking, the more tempted she was to just leave. It was taking forever for the host to explain to the crowd how the game would proceed and he hadn’t even announced the content of each round. Carmilla had half convinced herself to hightail it when he turned to them and _finally_ announced that they were ready to start the first round. 

 

With way too much flourish and happiness, the host turned back to the crowd and revealed the first round.

 

“For this first round, we’re staying close to the classics. Let’s test our couples on their knowledge of each other! It’s time to play our very own version of 20 questions!” he announced happily as if it was the most exciting thing he’d done all month.

 

Carmilla wouldn’t have been surprised if it was, she thought grumpily as another staff member walked on stage and handed each of them a small dry-erase board. She grabbed hers reluctantly, sighing loudly as she did.

 

“Stop it!” Laura hissed beside her. “Just _participate_ ,” she scolded. “You promised you would!”

“Oh you want me to participate?” Carmilla snapped back, turning to glare at the smaller girl.

“Yes!” Laura exclaimed.

“ _Fine_! I will,” she said, a devilish smirk forming on her lips.

 

If Laura wanted her to play, she would. Carmilla hoped that Laura was ready for it though.

 

*****

As it turned out, Laura had _not_ been ready for what Carmilla had in mind and the brunette was loving every single second of it.

 

The game had started slowly like these games always did. The host had asked them all a series of regular questions, where they’d first kissed, who had said ‘I love you’ first, where their first date had taken place and the likes. Of course, her preparation with Laura the night before had made it easy work for them to get through these basic questions. It had started being a bit more fun though when the questions had taken a slightly sexier turn and Carmilla had decided to run with it.

 

It was when the question ‘what color of underwear is your partner wearing’ had come up that Carmilla had finally found an opening to have a bit of fun. As it was to be expected, Laura had written a simple ‘black’ on her board. The smaller girl had therefore been remarkably shocked when Carmilla had revealed her own board with the words ‘I’m not wearing any’ written in a neat cursive handwriting. The crowd had burst into laughter and so had the host as Laura stared at her, her mouth gaping open. She’d winked at Laura in a faux-accomplice sort of way before shrugging to the still laughing host.

 

If Laura had thought this would be the peak of her embarrassment, Carmilla had proven her wrong yet again at the question: “What is your partner’s bra size”. To be fair, Carmilla hadn’t known the answer. But of course, instead of guessing, she’d written ‘about the size of my hand’ and Laura had blushed bright red before hiding her face behind her hands for a few seconds. Again, the crowd had cackled loudly, making ‘aw’ sounds at Laura’s embarrassment. They all thought that it was very funny and cute, but Carmilla knew that Laura wanted nothing more than to strangle her. She could live with that.

 

“Where is the most exciting place you’ve ever engaged in intercourse?” the host asked, bringing Carmilla’s attention back onto him.

 

She smiled to herself and started to write. She’d just had another idea. She felt a bit guilty when she recapped her marker and saw Laura’s anxious expression next to her. They’d discussed the answer to this question, but Carmilla was going off course once again. Laura had every reason to look wary.

 

“Alright, Laura and Carmilla, time to see if your answers match,” the host said with a bright smile after going through some of the other contestants’ answers.

 

Laura glanced sideways at Carmilla still very much wary before turning her board around.

 

“At the beach,” she said nervously, blushing again when some people in the audience whistled in response.

“At the beach, nice!” the host congratulated. “Let’s see if Carmilla’s answer matches.”

 

Carmilla couldn’t help, but smirk devilishly. She cocked her eyebrow at Laura before turning her board around.

 

‘Laura will say the beach, but actually it was in her office, on her desk.’

 

The crowd erupted in delighted laughter while Laura instinctively punched her shoulder.

 

“What the heck is _wrong_ with you?!” she hissed low enough that only Carmilla could hear as the crowd continued to laugh.

“You wanted me to participate, sweetheart. Consider your wish accomplished,” she replied smugly.

 

Laura was not finding her funny at all and from the distance, she could see Mandy’s surprised and skeptical expression. Carmilla, for her part, was certainly having fun, but she would perhaps have to tone it down a little if she didn’t want to truly upset Laura before the game was over and convince Mandy that they were indeed faking the relationship.

 

“Now that sounds like a fun story!” the host said as the laughter died down a little. “Care to elaborate a bit for us?”

“Of course, Bob,” Carmilla answered, noting the man’s confused expression at the name that probably wasn’t his. “You see, Laura doesn’t like to talk about it because it’s definitely frowned upon to engage in such activities at her office. Especially since she works in a cubicle,” Carmilla said through a grin, pausing to let the crowd laugh.

 

Laura was looking utterly mortified next to her, but was otherwise keeping silent and so Carmilla continued.

 

“But it was after hours, there were no one left on her floor, if perhaps a fair few people in her building and it was just so… enticing. Knowing that it was forbidden, yet within arm’s reach... Such desire. I wanted nothing more than to feel her skin underneath my fingertips and so I relayed it to her. There is sweet and unaltered excitement in the _interdit_. It was only the once though and Laura didn’t want anyone to know, but, well, the beach seemed so pale in comparison, I had to share… You’re not too mad are you, love?” she finished, sending Laura a seductive smile.

 

The whole crowd turned to look at the smaller girl who seemed tense and a bit entranced. After a beat or two, she cleared her throat and shook her head.

 

“Well we were _never_ supposed to speak of this again…” she began slowly, rolling with the lie. “But I guess it’s out there now,” she finished, still looking a bit upset.

 

Carmilla smirked and grabbed the other girl’s hand. She brought it to her lips and kissed it lightly. The crowd laughed and cooed and Carmilla only smiled wider. She could tell that Laura was finding the crowd’s enjoyment of her display of affection beyond annoying, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. And so she intertwined their fingers and put a fake smile on her face, playing along as she was bound to do. Carmilla stifled a laugh, but vowed mentally to give her a break for at least a few questions.

 

She did just that and the more questions passed without Carmilla going off course, the more Laura relaxed. It was perhaps 3 questions later though when the tension came back with a force and it wasn’t even Carmilla’s fault.

 

“Alright, partners sitting on the left side of the couch answer,” the host began, making Carmilla listen.

 

She’d be the one answering this one.

 

“When was the last time your partner swore?”

 

Carmilla snorted and went to write ‘never’, but stopped when she saw Laura’s cheek colour almost comically. She frowned then. Was there something she was missing? As far as she knew, Laura _didn’t_ ever swear. She was always coming up with these ridiculous sayings, often heavily laced with geek references. Surely someone whose swear of predilection went something like ‘holy hufflepuff’ didn’t ever utter _actual_ swears. Yet, Laura’s cheeks were definitely red.

 

Carmilla was certain that she was _definitely_ missing something now. Then, as subtly as she could, Laura glanced at Mandy in the distance and began to chew on her bottom lip. Carmilla followed her quick gaze and was surprised when she saw Mandy’s knowing, smug grin. So not only was she missing something, but Mandy was apparently in on it?

 

She’d just formed the thought and tried to shove the tinge of irritation in her stomach away when it finally occurred to Carmilla. There was only _one_ scenario she could think of that she wouldn’t know about and Mandy would.

 

A sly grin appeared on her face and she turned to look at Laura her eyebrows raised high. Laura only blushed harder and avoided her gaze as she began to scribble on her board. Satisfied that she’d guessed correctly, Carmilla wrote her own answer and waited impatiently for the reveal.

 

When their turn finally came, Carmilla was almost giddy.

 

It was Laura’s turn to make the crowd shriek in laughter as she turned her board.

 

‘The last time we made love’ Laura had written and Carmilla was only too pleased to reveal a matching: ‘Last night in our stateroom under… circumstances’. Of course it wasn’t true at all, but it wasn’t as if the crowd was any the wiser.

 

“You didn’t have to give specifics, sweety,” Laura said awkwardly.

“You’re the one who shared what the circumstances were, my love,” Carmilla replied with a Cheshire cat grin.

 

She turned to look at Mandy and when she saw her frowning it only served to please her more. They got their point and the host moved on to another couple. When Carmilla was sure no one was paying attention to them, she turned to Laura, getting her attention by tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

 

“Well I certainly didn’t know that about you cupcake,” she muttered, still grinning.

“Yeah well… Now you do,” Laura huffed.

“Although I must admit I’d have rather learned such a thing in its… natural circumstance…” Carmilla decided to tease.

“In your dreams Karnstein!” Laura squeaked hastily, her blush reaching her neck.

 

Carmilla laughed and considered letting it slide, but she couldn’t help herself. She brought her arm around Laura’s shoulders and leaned in to whisper in her ear.  

 

“Looking forward to sleep then…”

 

Laura squirmed and shrugged Carmilla’s arm off her shoulders as the brunette laughed at her embarrassment. Perhaps this game wasn’t as bad after all…

 

After the swearing question, Carmilla had half a mind of continuing to surprise Laura with heavily laden sexual answers. She genuinely loved the colour of Laura’s cheeks when she blushed and the bunched up face she made when she was upset. Besides, being painfully annoying was making it much easier for the brunette to reconcile with the idea that she was participating in such a stupid game to begin with.

 

Every thought of irritating the smaller girl disappeared from her mind though when the next question (that Laura would answer about her this time) was revealed.

 

“What is your partner’s biggest fear?” Not-Bob asked and Carmilla felt herself freeze.

 

The second she did, Laura sent her a concerned look. The small girl knew the answer to that question, Carmilla was sure. After all, she’d seen her in the midst of a panic attack twice by now. There was no denying that Laura was very aware that her fear of enclosed space was by far the one plaguing her the most. Yet, even if Laura _did_ know, Carmilla was certain that she didn’t fancy the rest of the audience knowing. She’d always _hated_ discussing her feelings, the thought of _sharing_ them, with strangers no less, was more than a little appalling.

 

It was with that in mind that she wrote ‘snakes’ on her board without any real care. She couldn’t bring herself to write the truth even if Laura no doubt would. She could always deny it.

 

Before she was ready, it was time to reveal their boards and Carmilla looked in apprehension, only to be pleasantly surprised.

 

‘Nothing’ was what Laura had written and Carmilla could not stop staring. She completely missed the host’s comments too as she continued to stare at Laura with incomprehension. Why had the small girl lied? Carmilla _knew_ that she knew the real answer. Yet, she hadn’t written it. Carmilla didn’t understand.

 

When the host’s attention moved to the others, Laura slowly met her gaze and smiled softly at her. Carmilla felt the pressure of Laura’s hand on her thigh before the small girl half shrugged as if she could hear the brunette’s unspoken questions.

 

“Some things don’t have to be shared,” Laura muttered, her fingers absentmindedly tracing a pattern on Carmilla’s thigh.

 

Carmilla blinked in amazement and smiled slowly. This time when she grabbed Laura’s hand and pressed a kiss to it, she wasn’t met with an eye roll or irritation and nothing else was needed to be said.

 

*****

 

The rest of the first round had gone without anything notable happening. After Laura’s unexpected act of kindness, Carmilla had dropped all intent of going off course. If she’d found it funny before, now she felt like she owed it to the other girl to participate a bit more seriously. She could tell that Laura had been pleased by that too.

 

After the round was concluded, the points were added up. Because of Carmilla’s adlibs, they were nowhere near the top spot, but they weren’t the last couple either. If Carmilla didn’t give a damn about whether or not they came in last, Laura seemed a lot more concerned.

 

“We’ll do better next round,” she declared as more staff from the cruise came on stage to place mysterious boxes in front of every couple.

 

Carmilla was about to answer that she didn’t care, but was interrupted when a staffer gave her a sleeping mask and handed Laura a big yellow envelope. Before either of them had time to wonder what the hell it was about though, the game’s host began to speak.

 

“Alright! It is now time for our second round! We’ve tested our couples’ knowledge of each other and now we’re going to test how well they _communicate_!” Not-Bob announced.

 

Laura and Carmilla looked at each other nervously. They were both acutely aware that they weren’t very good at communicating with each other. It was hard to deny when they’d found that a week had been enough to end their 6 year-long feud. Surely poor communication skills were to blame at least in part. 

 

“That’s right folks! As you can see we’ve handed each person either a sleeping mask or an envelope as well as one unmarked box per couple. Well for this round’s challenge, our couples will have to communicate since they will have to team up to try to assemble an Ikea bedside table! You’ve heard correctly! One partner will be blindfolded as the other partner gives them instructions on how to complete the task! Only the blindfolded partner will be allowed to touch the table and put it together. The couple that’s gotten the furthest with the fewest mistakes will get the most points! I’m telling you folks, this will be a funny one! Get ready to laugh!”

 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Carmilla groaned as the crowd began to clap and chatter excitedly.

“So… Are you any good at assembling Ikea stuff?” Laura asked her uncertainly.

“Are you any good at giving instructions?” she shot back.

 

Laura shrugged.

 

“Guess we’ll find out…” she answered.

 

Carmilla had a feeling things were about to get very interesting and perhaps not in the best of ways. Not for the first time that day, she wished she could be anywhere, but here. She hadn’t thought this game would get this intense. It was ridiculous. Most games asked questions and left it at that, but not on this cruise apparently. Oh no, this cruise went far beyond and now she was stuck. Her crush on Laura was definitely unhealthy if it made her take part in such activities.

 

“We can do this,” Laura said assuredly next to her as if trying to convince herself. “We can totally communicate right?” she asked, sounding a lot less certain this time.

 

Carmilla sighed and shrugged as she placed the sleeping mask on her face. Truthfully, she was fairly sure they’d make a mess of this, but there was nothing she could do about it.

 

*****

 

Just as Carmilla had expected, it hadn’t taken very long for Laura and she to make a total mess of this challenge. Even if Laura had been overexcited and completely determined to succeed in this round, the fact was that neither of them had any idea what they were doing. Carmilla, who’d grown up in a fairly wealthy family, had never even touched unbuilt Ikea furniture before and although Laura had built some in her life she’d never been in charge of the plan. That fact had become painfully obvious to Carmilla the second the round had officially begun.

 

“Okay!” Laura had said enthusiastically. “Right, so uh… Okay… Hang on… there aren’t even piece numbers on here… How do I know which ones you- Oh, oh! I think I’ve got it! Okay! So, grab that piece!”

“What piece?” Carmilla had replied with an eye roll.

“That one right there!” Laura had shot back as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh, _right_ , _that_ piece. Of course! How could I not see it before? Oh, wait, perhaps because I can’t see _anything_ ,” she’d said sarcastically.

“Oh! Oh, right. Shoot! Okay uh… just… uh… grab the piece on your left. No, not that one, more to your left. More. A bit more still.”

“How _much_ more?!” Carmilla had snapped. “Because I’m literally fucking _blind_ here!”

“Language! You don’t need to be this rude!” Laura had answered instead of actually clarifying the instructions.

 

That had led to a fair bit more arguing until they’d both managed to remember that they were supposed to be assembling something. Remembering didn’t mean it continued smoothly though because here they were, several minutes later and Carmilla wasn’t even sure they’d completed the second step of the instructions.

 

“No! You have to put the wooden plugs in the _big_ holes!” Laura shouted, making Carmilla chuckle.

“Can you even hear yourself?”

“What? What did I- Oh! That’s _not_ what I meant and you know it!” a clearly flustered Laura answered.

“Alright, calm down Tobias Fünke, I was just saying…”

“Can we _please_ focus on that nightstand?!”

 

Carmilla shrugged and turned back to where she was fairly sure the nightstand was. She could see a very faint stream of light coming through the bottom of the mask, but she couldn’t really see anything else. Back in the days, Carmilla wouldn’t have been able to do this thing, she thought. For years she hadn’t been able to stand blindfolds and the likes. Being completely deprived of her sight had been something she’d associated for a long time with some bad memories of her childhood. That and enclosed spaces. It had taken her a tremendous effort to get over any of it. It was almost a miracle that she no longer felt the panic grip her heart when plunged into complete darkness.

 

“Carmilla!” Laura snapped her out of her thoughts. “Are you even _listening_ to me?!”

“No,” Carmilla admitted without guilt, smirking when she heard Laura’s huffs of anger.

 

She focused again on her task after that, but unfortunately that didn’t make the challenge any easier or pleasurable. Just finding the right pieces was hard enough with Laura’s instructions being only slightly more useful than Carmilla having to find them on her own with no help at all. It was only minutes before they were arguing again.

 

“It’s not going to work like that! You need to align the things!” Laura said exasperatedly.

“Yes, I agree, but can you get it in your head that I can’t _see_ the damn holes! Try aligning things blindfolded and _then_ come tell me that I’m doing it wrong!” Carmilla shot back.

“Well what do you want me to say?! They’re right in front of you! I can’t be more precise!”

“Perhaps if you _tried_ ,”

“Just feel the damn holes with your fingers! Why are you laugh- Oh for Neville’s sake! I didn’t mean it like _that_! Urgh! Now one of the plugs fell off!”

 

They actually managed to collaborate and assemble a few more things after that with only minimal arguing. It was a bit of a hassle. The stupid plugs kept falling off and aligning something she couldn’t see really was making the whole experience nightmarish to Carmilla, but they still managed to get a few steps done. Carmilla was half impressed until, of course, the fighting resumed.

 

“Not those screws! You’re taking the wrong ones.”

“I can’t _see_ Laura! Be more _precise_ ,” Carmilla growled.

“I’m trying! If you’d let me speak, I’d tell you where they are!”

 

It was fairly obvious at this point that both Carmilla and Laura’s patience was growing thin. Carmilla was trying to hold on to all the peacefulness she had left, but Laura was making it incredibly difficult for her to relax what with her yelled instructions and constant berating.

 

“Not those ones either! To the ri- uh I mean left!” she yelled again.

“I _swear_ to God Laura! If you yell at me _one more time_!”

“I’m not yelling! I’m instructing with passion! This is what passionate people _do_! _Not those ones either_! Are you listening to any-ow! Did you just _throw_ the screws at me?! That’s dangerous! Ow! Stop that!”

“I. Swear. To. God. I will throw you the damn bag if you do not stop with this bossy little attitude of yours!”

“How are you even- _ow_ \- hitting me when you can’t see!? Seriously Carm this is so counterproductive! We need to focus our energy on- ow! Okay that is _it_!” Laura snapped.

“Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about- ow! Did you just throw something back?! Targeting a blind woman Hollis? How very- ow. Oh okay, if this is how it’s gonna be…” Carmilla finished, yanking her sleeping mask off her face.

 

Her eyes adjusted to the light just in time to see a grinning Laura throw her another screw. Despite how annoyed she’d been a few seconds ago, Carmilla couldn’t help herself now. A smile formed on her lips as Laura bit hers and she grabbed more a few screws laying on the ground. She started throwing them lightly at the other girl, dodging incoming projectiles as she went. Before Carmilla and Laura knew it, they were no longer angry, but laughing loudly together. They only laughed harder when a frenzied Laura tried to jump over their barely built nightstand and caught her feet in it, destroying all the progress they’d manage to make in the first place. It barely deterred them though and the second Laura was back on her feet, the play-fighting resumed.

 

Of course, since Carmilla was actually having fun for the first time in this round, a couple of guys from the staff had to come and interrupt them. They stopped fighting and listened diligently as they were scolded like disobedient children. It wasn’t long after that that the end of the round was announced and every couple gathered around their nightstand.

 

Carmilla didn’t need to glimpse at the other couples’ nightstands to know that theirs was by far the saddest looking one, but she did it anyway. What with Laura having half destroyed theirs, it truly looked ridiculous. While the other contestants’ nightstands looked at least in part like actual nightstands, theirs resembled a pile of crooked laminated wooden pieces. 

 

“Well that’s a bit pathetic,” Carmilla mumbled as the host began commenting on everyone’s work.

“Yeah, it really is,” Laura commented, all of her anger seemingly gone. “But, hey, at least we had fun, right? I mean, at least at the end.”

“At least at the end,” Carmilla concurred with a smirk.

 

They didn’t talk much for the rest of the second round’s commentaries. They didn’t really need to say anything else anyway. When Not-Bob got to them, he couldn’t help, but poke fun a little. Carmilla was a bit ticked off, but when he commented on how happy they’d seemed when playing around and doing their own thing and Laura beamed brightly in response, she found that she didn’t mind that much.

 

As it was to be expected though they were awarded the least points for this round, placing them firmly in the last spot.

 

“Not too disappointed, cupcake?” Carmilla asked as Laura sighed beside her.

“No, I mean, I hope we’re proving that we’re a couple regardless of our appalling performance, but other than that, I guess I don’t really care anymore,” Laura explained with a shrug.

 

Carmilla wasn’t sure if Laura meant it fully or not, but she nodded regardless and stayed otherwise silent. She vowed to herself though to make a bit of an extra effort for the last round just so that Laura wouldn’t be too upset. She really had it bad.

 

*****

 

After Not-Bob had finished commenting on the contestants efforts, the staff had come to clean up the stage. One lanky teenager with a broom had sent dirty looks to Carmilla and Laura as he tried to rid the stage of every screw that had wandered, but had looked elsewhere when Carmilla had raised a menacing eyebrow at him.

 

The cleanup didn’t take that long after that to be completed and before they knew it, Not-Bob was back to the front of the stage.

 

“Well that last round was certainly entertaining was it not?” he said with a fake chuckle. “I sure hope you’re ready for more though because for this last round we’re bringing the excitement in the entertainment! That’s right folks, things are about to get interesting because for this final round, we will test our couples’ _physical_ chemistry!”

 

Carmilla frowned in confusion at the announcement. Physical chemistry? What the hell did _that_ mean? What kind of ridiculous thing would they have to do this time?

 

“For the next round,” The host continued. “Each pair will have to demonstrate that their special bond extends beyond general knowledge of each other and good communication skills. Hold on to your neighbours because for this round each couple will have to share one heated _kiss_ for us all tonight!”

 

The second the words were out of the host’s mouth, Carmilla felt herself freeze. Had he just said what she thought he did?

 

She turned to look at Laura and when she saw the smaller girl staring, eyes wide and mouth gaping open at the game host, Carmilla realised that the man had indeed said exactly what she’d thought she’d heard. The knowledge didn’t make her feel any better.

 

She gulped slowly before breathing out nervously. This was _not_ what she’d signed up for. Not that kissing Laura was something Carmilla found particularly repulsive, quite the contrary in fact. Kissing Laura was something that Carmilla wouldn’t have minded at all, actually, but perhaps under other circumstances. Like kissing Laura in private instead of in front of an expectant crowd, for example.

 

As the game show host continued to explain the next round, Carmilla found herself looking around the room distractedly. She stopped abruptly though when she met Mandy’s gaze and noticed the annoyingly smug smirk on her lips.

 

Despite how nervous she was feeling, Carmilla glared at the other girl. Of course, Mandy probably thought this was the round where they’d prove that they weren’t really a couple. She looked so happy by that turn of events that Carmilla was half wondering if she hadn’t known this was coming all along. The sole thought of it made her want to scream and so Carmilla clenched her teeth to stop herself. If she ran into Mandy again after this day she would _so_ punch her in the nose.

 

Carmilla had already imagined several different ways in which her fantasy came to life when Laura interrupted her hateful thoughts.

 

“We don’t _have_ to do it, right?” she asked quietly while the host carried on to explain the point system of the round.

“Right…” Carmilla mumbled back, feeling her heart drop instantly and her stomach churn.

 

Of course Laura didn’t want to do it at all. She should have known. Carmilla _knew_ that the feelings she’d developed for Laura were one-sided. She _knew_ that, but it didn’t change the fact that it hurt to see how the other girl could seemingly not even _imagine_ kissing her. Laura had gone along with the entire game, had _insisted_ that they prepare the previous day and had been ready to do just about anything to get Mandy to back off on her threats, but apparently kissing Carmilla was going too far.

 

“I mean, it’ll look a bit suspicious at first,” Laura continued in a whisper, completely missing Carmilla’s crestfallen expression. “Like, why _wouldn’t_ we just kiss if we were a couple, you know? But I’m sure we can explain it away. I mean, I’m sure you can come up with some sort of philosophical justification. Something like… uh… oh! What about being against societal voyeurism? That sounds plausible right? Or like, kissing for a public buys into the hyper sexualisation of female same sex couples and we’re fundamentally against that? Although that kinda makes a little less sense since we’re _all_ same sex couples… What do you think?” the small girl asked seriously.

“Whatever you want sweetheart,” Carmilla replied in the most even tone she could muster.

 

She was foolishly feeling a bit heartbroken about Laura’s insistence to find them a way out, but she was also adamant about not letting the other girl notice.

 

“Well I mean… I don’t care either way, but it’d be probably more believable if you said it, maybe? Because I have a tendency to ramble and I’m a pretty terrible liar anyway so… It should be you saying it and everything,” Laura continued matter-of-factly.

“Sure,” Carmilla replied, refusing to look at Laura.

 

The small girl seemed to notice and she sighed a second later.

 

“Look,” she said calmly, a tentative hand reaching for Carmilla’s. “I’m sorry okay? I know you didn’t even want to do this whole game in the first place and I know it’s all my fault because Mandy is _my_ stupid ex… And now because of me you’re stuck in this icky situation where you have to invent some ridiculous lie just so you don’t have to kiss me. I realise that just because we’re friends now doesn’t mean we have no boundaries and that I can’t just ask you to kiss me because there’s no way you’d want that and-”

“Wait what?” Carmilla interrupted suddenly, her mood perking up a little.

 

Laura opened her mouth to answer, confusion written all over her face, but the crowd erupted into applause and it became impossible to speak. The host had finished his explanations and the round would soon begin. The crowd was wild with excitement, it seemed, applauding, cheering and whistling loudly. The other couples looked either as excited as the spectators or politely waiting with faint smiles. It was only she and Laura, apparently, who were struggling with this very public display of affection. Of course, they probably also were the only ones there not actually dating.

 

Once the host had approached the first couple who would be kissing, Laura squeezed Carmilla’s hand to get her attention and cleared her throat.

 

“There’s- there’s no way _we’d_ want that…” Laura whispered, not quite looking at the other girl.

 

Carmilla squinted at Laura.

 

“That’s not what you said,” Carmilla shot back quietly. “You said there was no way _I’d_ want that.”

“Well… _Do you_?” Laura asked her in reply, her cheeks blushing faintly.  

 

Carmilla turned back to look at the couple who had started the round and was now sucking face and shrugged. She couldn’t exactly answer the truth, but she didn’t want to outright lie to Laura either.

 

“If memory serves me correctly, _you_ were the one that took these sort of… _activities_ off the table,” Carmilla chose to say.  

“What? When?” Laura asked, clearly confused.

“Well, you said on the very first day that you’d make this trip worth my while and then backtracked…”

“I meant that I wouldn’t _sleep_ with you! That’s different!” Laura defended hotly.

 

Carmilla smirked and turned to look at Laura once more. The small girl was getting flustered now.

 

“Oh?” she whispered, her voice low and raspy. “So it’s still on the table then?” she asked teasingly.

 

Laura blushed bright red and snapped her hand out of Carmilla’s.

 

“No! I mean- that’s not- that’s just- I- Stop twisting my words around!” she spluttered.

 

Carmilla chuckled. She really did like to make Laura flustered. Besides, it made it much easier for the brunette to deal with the situation if she could tease her way around it and appear in control. It was much easier in any case than to deal with her own nerves.

 

“Relax cupcake before you give yourself an aneurism,” she said softly.

“You’re the one-” Laura began to argue before Carmilla interrupted her by grabbing her hand again and squeezing it once.

“I’m just teasing, sorry, old habits,” she said with a small smile. “Look,” she continued a bit more seriously. “All I meant was for you to stop making decisions based on what you _think_ my position on the matter is. What do _you_ think we should do?”

 

Carmilla looked at the small girl as Laura chewed on her bottom lip nervously. The host had moved on to another couple now and it wouldn’t be long before it was their turn. Whatever Laura decided, she needed to do it fast.

 

“I… well, I… I wouldn’t want to impose-” she began mumbling.

“Laura,” Carmilla cut her off. “What do you think we should do?” she repeated very slowly.

“I… I think no explanation will satisfy Mandy. I think that, if we don’t do it, that’s it. She’ll tell on us. So I think… we’ve already gone this far…” she finally answered hesitantly, a brand new blush blossoming on her cheeks.

 

Carmilla’s heart fluttered in her chest. So Laura _wasn’t_ completely grossed out at the idea of kissing her. The brunette was surprised by how relieved that knowledge made her feel.

 

“Carm…” Laura whispered, bringing Carmilla out of thoughts once again. “I meant it though… I don’t want you to feel like you _have_ to do anything. I don’t want to impose…”

 

Carmilla smiled softly and brushed her thumb along Laura’s knuckles.

 

“Then ask me,” she replied simply.

“What?” Laura said confusedly.

“Ask me,” Carmilla repeated. “If you don’t want to impose yourself, then ask me.”

“You want me to ask you to kiss me?” Laura shot back incredulously.

“It’s better than demanding it,” Carmilla said with a shrug. “Although that wouldn’t be the first time for me,” she finished with a smirk.

 

Laura’s eyes widened a little at the answer and her cheeks colored. She stayed silent for a moment before shaking her head and clearing her throat. She looked incredibly nervous as she locked her gaze with Carmilla’s. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally speaking.

 

“Will you kiss me?” she asked quickly, her entire face tomato red and her eyes back on the ground.

 

Carmilla couldn’t help the grin that came to her lips. Despite the fact that her heart was hammering in her chest, it felt oddly satisfying to hear Laura ask her such a thing.

 

“It will be my pleasure,” she replied huskily, keeping her own eyes averted from the other girl.

 

It was much easier to sound like she was teasing Laura if she didn’t have to look at her. If she was being honest, Carmilla was slightly afraid that Laura would realise how much she actually meant the words if she said them while looking into her eyes.

 

She saw Laura nod beside her regardless and nothing else was added as they both redirected their attention to the other contestants. None of them seemed to mind the round’s challenge much and if they did a little bit, none of them looked quite as nervous as Laura looked and as Carmilla felt. It was to be expected though. As much as Laura and Carmilla had grown closer over the past week, kissing was an entirely different affair in itself. It was far above any level of intimacy they’d share on the ship, let alone before that.

 

They remained silent for a while, only exchanging disgusted expressions when Mandy and her girlfriend shared a kiss far too explicit for the obvious PG-13 vibe the game was definitely going for. Carmilla just didn’t know what to say and Laura looked so stressed that Carmilla was half afraid the small girl would have a nervous breakdown before their lips got anywhere near each other’s. So she remained silent and schooled her own jitters. They couldn’t afford to both be panicking, after all.

 

The silence lasted for a long time, but when the host moved to the couple just before them, Laura finally seemed to break.

 

“Oh god…” she muttered, before turning uncertainly towards Carmilla.

 

She looked so afraid that for a moment, the brunette was convinced that Laura was about to cancel the whole thing and ask that they try their shot at refusing to do it. She was surprised therefore when Laura spoke and proved her wrong.

 

“Ok so I just… I need to warn you,” Laura said under her breath.

 

Her lips were barely moving as if she was afraid that Not-Bob would hear.

 

“I’m not like… I haven’t really…” she continued nonetheless.

 

She paused for a moment, sending Carmilla an anxious look before gulping and breathing deeply.

 

“What I mean to say is, I haven’t, you know, kissed much… I mean I, I’ve _kissed_ plenty, but usually only people I was dating. And I think I only ever get sort of okay at it when I’ve kissed the person a few times? So it may be really bad. I’m truly sorry if my kissing ends up being totally gross, although I don’t think it’ll be gross by being like overly wet or anything… just probably super awkward. Kind of like this entire conversation. I’m done now,” Laura finished with a blush.

 

Carmilla couldn’t help, but smile. She was nervous, _god_ was she nervous, but Laura was adorable and the brunette just had to smile.

 

“Say something please,” Laura asked her almost desperately.

“Remember what I’ve already discussed with you in terms of waltzing?” she asked softly, trying her very best to calm Laura down.

“That I stand too far away from you?” the small girl asked with a confused expression.

“Well, yes,” Carmilla conceded. “But also, that you tend to over think everything that you do. This is a fine example of such tendencies.”

“Right.”

“Laura,” Carmilla whispered, her voice disgustingly laced with concern and affection. “I’m sure your kissing will be absolutely lovely.”

 

Laura looked at her and smiled a little and before anything else was said, Not-Bob was standing in front of them.

 

“Laura and Carmilla! It is now your time to shine! Show us your love connection!” he said and if Laura hadn’t been so nervous, Carmilla might have considered decking the idiot for being so obnoxious.

 

She turned to Laura though and tried to forget everything around them. When she spotted the way the small girl was worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she frowned.

 

“There’s still time to change your mind, you know,” Carmilla muttered for Laura’s ears only. “Societal voyeurism, I could manage that. I would lie for you, Laura, if you only asked it of me,” she finished with a lot more emotion than she’d meant.

 

Laura blinked twice, regarding her with something akin to awe and slowly shook her head.

 

“No, just… Kiss me, please,” Laura whispered and Carmilla didn’t need any more invitation.

 

She brought a hand to Laura’s face and brushed her hair aside as she stepped closer. She looked for one hint of hesitation or apprehension on Laura’s part and when she found nothing, but calm resolve and perhaps a hint of anticipation, she closed the distance.

 

Carmilla touched her lips to Laura’s almost fearfully at first, not daring to make too brisk a move. When she felt a warm shaky breath escape the smaller girl’s lips and fall on her own though, Carmilla pressed forward a bit more convincingly, her hand cupping Laura’s cheek fully and her fingers digging into the girl’s hair. She felt Laura’s hands find her elbows and the girl’s lips move with hers and Carmilla found herself bringing her other hand into Laura’s hair as well.

 

Did Laura truly believe she was a horrid kisser, Carmilla wondered. Because nothing in that kiss was anything, but sublime. Perhaps it was her own disposition, perhaps it was the fact that her heart was already pounding loudly in her ears at the thought that she was kissing _Laura_ , but Carmilla could not find a single thing wrong about the way the smaller girl’s lips moved against hers. In fact, Carmilla had rarely ever lost herself so truly into a kiss before. Gone were the sounds surrounding them, gone was her consciousness of the observing crowd. All that mattered was that her lips were on Laura Hollis’ and that neither seemed ready to let go.

 

At the thought, Carmilla’s fingers twitched in Laura’s light brown locks and she stepped even closer. She felt Laura’s hands leave her elbows and her arms circle her waist, pressing their bodies firmly together. Blood rushed past her ears and Carmilla was pretty sure she sighed contently before angling her face differently and brushing a tentative tongue on Laura’s bottom lip. The response she got was immediate and made her legs tremble for Laura opened her mouth eagerly and met Carmilla’s tongue with hers.

 

Puffs of air were exhaled through their noses as the desire intensified inside Carmilla’s stomach. She would have gladly spent the rest of her days kissing Laura, she thought, if the other girl had ever wanted her.

 

Eventually, Carmilla had to let go, the need to breathe really beginning to be bothersome. She brushed her nose against Laura’s though and pecked her lips a few times more before finally disconnecting their kiss properly and opening her eyes slowly. She could still breathe in Laura’s perfume, could still feel the exciting tingle the kiss had triggered on her lips. She was completely dizzy with want and affection and it was almost too much for Carmilla.

 

When Laura opened her eyes a fraction later than Carmilla had and met her gaze with dark, surprised brown eyes, Carmilla gulped. She was completely ruined, she realised more acutely in this moment than ever before. Because now that she’d tasted Laura, she wanted nothing more. She was ruined and the other girl would undoubtedly break her heart. She would take it, Carmilla thought, take all the heartache if it got her to kiss Laura one more time.  

 

Carmilla let go slowly of the smaller girl and took a step away as the sound of the cheering crowd slowly reached her ears again. She felt like such a romantic idiot for feeling this invested from just one kiss. She’d even take that too though. It was what Laura did to her and there was no longer anything she could do about it. She was not ready to deal with this.

 

*****

 

Hours later, Laura was sitting in her stateroom feeling completely shell-shocked still.

 

She had kissed Carmilla.

 

She had _kissed_ Carmilla. She had kissed _Carmilla_ and it had been _amazing_. She had not expected that.

 

In fact, she hadn’t expected to kiss Carmilla at all. Going into this game, Laura had never _imagined_ that there could be a round like this. Beyond that, she’d never imagined that Carmilla would be willing to do it. Sure Carmilla was a bit of a lady killer and Laura had seen her kiss plenty of women at parties in their college days, but this had been different because if there was one person Carmilla had never even attempted to kiss it surely was Laura. In all the parties, in any state of inebriation, Carmilla had never even once shown even the slightest desire of kissing her and Laura couldn’t see any reason why that could have changed. On top of that, the brunette wasn’t one to take orders from anyone and therefore Laura felt sure that she’d refuse to kiss for the benefit of a game and Laura’s ex-girlfriend’s satisfaction.

 

So yeah, Laura hadn’t expected to actually kiss the other girl, but more importantly she hadn’t expected it to feel like this. Honestly, it was entirely unfair for a kiss to stir up that many feelings inside of her.

 

If Laura had anticipated that Carmilla’s kiss would feel powerful in a dominating kind of way, she’d been proven completely wrong. In fact, Carmilla had been so delicate at first that it had shook Laura’s entire body. And if her stomach had twisted pleasantly and her heart had fluttered relentlessly, it was nothing compared to how she’d feel _after_. If she’d thought that the gentleness of the kiss was what she liked the most about it, it was nothing compared to how she’d felt when the press of Carmilla’s lips against hers had intensified. Before she knew it, Laura had found herself tugging Carmilla closer, circling her waist eagerly and opening her mouth for the other girl. All thoughts of past hatred had fled her mind and, in that moment, Laura hadn’t wanted the kiss to ever end.

 

And it was so _so_ totally unfair, because Carmilla was her _friend_. She wasn’t supposed to kiss Laura and crack her open. She wasn’t supposed to be so soft and sweet and downright intoxicating. Kissing Carmilla was _supposed_ to be awkward. _That’s_ what Laura had expected. God, why couldn’t things ever go the way she wanted them to?

 

Laura could still remember their lips parting for the first time and how Carmilla had brushed her nose against hers, stealing a few more kisses before letting go fully. Laura had been wide-eyed the moment she’d opened her eyes, she was fairly sure. Her arms still firmly around Carmilla's waist and her brain not quite functioning, Laura had only wanted to close the gap between them once more.

 

Of course, reality had come rushing back when the host had made an over eager cheer and effectively broken them both out of the moment. She’d stepped away from Carmilla then, her entire face most likely red and had looked at her feet shyly. The host had gone on and on about how passionate and beautiful their kiss had been and it was after his long winded rant that he’d turned back to the crowd. Through applause, they’d awarded points and Laura wasn’t sure what to make of it when they were granted the most.

 

They had still lost the overall game what with their totally dreadful performance in the second round, but their first place in that last round was more than a little rattling. It didn’t help matters at all either when Carmilla had made the fastest exit possible the minute the game had been officially over. Laura had wanted to follow after her, but when she’d seen Mandy walk towards her, she’d let her go with a heavy heart.  

 

The conversation with Mandy hadn’t been all that long. To Laura’s immense relief, her ex had actually bought the relationship. She’d reluctantly admitted so and after telling Laura that although the small girl’s relationship with Carmilla was a bit weird, they looked happy together and she wished them luck. Laura had been very surprised by her ex’s politeness to the point of being speechless. She’d eventually managed a quick thank you and had made her own exit.

 

The rest of the day had gone by in a bit of a blur. Laura couldn’t stop replaying the events of the afternoon in her mind to the point where it seemed unhealthy. The only thing she had wanted was to find Carmilla and just… be in her presence, but the brunette was nowhere to be found.

 

Laura had expected to see the other girl at dinner, but Carmilla hadn’t shown up at all. The disappointment that had settled in the pit of her stomach at that turn of event was only beaten when Danny turned up as her waitress for the night and a wave of guilt hit Laura like a freight train. It wasn’t that she thought she had done anything wrong, she _hadn’t_ , but seeing Danny had made her realise that she hadn’t even thought of the tall girl all day. Of course, Laura hadn’t told the waitress any of that and nor had she told her about the game show when Danny had asked her about her day. She wasn’t sure why exactly she was lying or rather omitting certain truths, but Laura knew that she didn’t wish to discuss her kiss with Carmilla with Danny. It didn’t help with the guilt at all that a small voice in Laura’s head had reminded her all through dinner that she hadn’t been nearly as shaken after she’d kissed Danny than she was now after kissing Carmilla. Laura wasn’t sure what to make of that.

 

She’d gone back to her room after dinner and that was where she was now, sitting on her bed, still thinking about that damn kiss and a bit upset that Carmilla was _still_ nowhere to be found.

 

Had the kiss been totally awkward for Carmilla? Had she been so horribly bad at it that Carmilla couldn’t dare look at her face anymore? If only Laura could see her, then she’d be able to ask. For that though, she needed to know where the other girl was. How was she supposed to do that if the girl was potentially avoiding her? Where was she even supposed to look first on a boat that big?

 

As soon as the thought hit Laura, the answer presented itself as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She _knew_ where to look for Carmilla first. The piano lounge. If the bartender had been truthful, and Laura had no reason to believe that he hadn’t, then it meant that Carmilla had spent most of her nights there. With all the excitement of the day before and the nervousness of the upcoming game show, Laura had forgotten to mention that she’d seen the brunette play and sing. So it was totally likely that Carmilla had gone to the lounge, thinking there was no way Laura would find her there if she really was avoiding her.

 

Without a second thought, Laura sprung to her feet and made her way to the lounge.

 

The closer she got to the place, the louder her heart thumped. While sitting alone in her room, seeking Carmilla out had seemed like the most logical and sensible thing to do. Now that she was most likely going to find her, Laura was getting nervous. What was she even supposed to say? Hey Carm! So… that kiss, uh? Was I really bad? She couldn’t say that. That sounded lame. Yet, it was pretty much the only thing she could think of.

 

It was only a few minutes before Laura found herself in front of the lounge’s entrance. This time when she heard the soft voice coming from the place, Laura knew immediately that it was Carmilla. She gulped and exhaled shakily before pushing the glass door open and stepping inside.

 

She walked to the bar instinctively, her eyes darting to the stage the second it was visible. Sure enough, there was Carmilla, her head bowed over the keys of her piano, her brow slightly furrowed and her deep voice reverberating into the room. Just like the last time, Laura was instantly captivated.

 

She reached the bar almost absentmindedly and it was only when the bartender addressed her that she fully realised that she’d reached it at all.

 

“Hey! I remember you! You came back to watch her play, huh?” he said as Laura turned slowly to face him. “Can’t say I blame you, she’s really good.”

“Yeah,” Laura answered with a very small smile, turning again to look at Carmilla.

“Can I get you anything?” she heard the bartender ask, but she shook her head.

 

She didn’t want anything, but to keep looking at Carmilla and so she sat at the bar and did just that. She couldn’t take her eyes off the other girl. With the memory of the brunette’s lips on her own and the sound of her entrancing voice enveloping her, Laura had never felt this connected to a person before.  

 

As if on cue, or perhaps as if she could feel Laura’s intense gaze on her, Carmilla raised her head from the piano and her eyes instantly found Laura sitting by herself at the bar. Her eyes widened a fraction in surprise and she seemed to tense for a moment, but then the reality that was Laura sitting in her piano lounge seemed to sink in and she relaxed again. She continued to sing and play, but every few seconds, her gaze would find Laura again.

 

When the song came to an end, Laura clapped along with the audience, blushing shyly when Carmilla’s eyes found her once again. She didn’t move though, didn’t wave the other girl over and just waited. She was the one who had invaded the girl’s sanctuary after all. She could let her decide how to proceed next.

 

Carmilla looked at her for a moment, before sitting back down behind her piano. She licked her lips and locked her gaze with Laura.

 

“This one is for you,” she said softly into the microphone and began to play.

 

There was a bit of excited chatter at the brunette’s words and a few people turned around to see if they could spot whoever was the person Carmilla had spoken to, but Laura didn’t care. She could hear her heart beating so hard in her ears that it was a miracle that she could hear the music too.

 

The melody was soft and slow and beautiful and it was only a few seconds before Carmilla accompanied it with her voice that felt as much of a caress as ever. Laura wasn’t sure actually if it was the context, the fact that this song had been especially dedicated to her, but she was finding Carmilla’s voice even softer, even more enveloping than ever before. She felt completely flustered. It was hard not to when Carmilla was singing so beautifully to her, _for_ her, and sending her intense glances every now and then.

 

 _God_ she was beautiful, Laura thought.

 

“There's a voice I heard and it's calling from underneath my feet, and I'm surrounded by these images of these perfect people that I'm supposed to be,” Carmilla sang, frowning.

 

The words were barely out and Laura was frowning along with the brunette. It was rather magical how Carmilla’s voice could make her _feel_ the music along with her.

 

“And there she is,” Carmilla continued, her frown easing and her eyes finding Laura’s.

 

Laura’s heart caught in her throat and she breathed in nervously as she listened to the next words.

 

“There ain't no difference, ain't no difference, between me and you, or everyone in the places just like me, holding hands with the devil and the other hand’s free.”

 

Carmilla’s eyes didn’t leave her once as she sang and so Laura listened even more carefully, her heart still beating erratically in her ribcage.

 

“Maybe there’s some hope for us, maybe there's hope for me, and it's hard just to face this one alone,” Carmilla sang gravely, her eyes shining with something that Laura couldn’t name.

 

Laura inhaled sharply as the words registered and it felt like a swarm of butterflies had been set free in her stomach. Did Carmilla mean…? Of course she didn’t mean it like _that_. This was just her way of showing Laura that they were good even after the awkwardness of their shared kiss. It had to be. Still, Laura’s heart wouldn’t slow down and the rest of the song became a blur as the thoughts multiplied and muddled in her brain.

 

Soon enough, perhaps even a bit too soon, the song came to a conclusion and the room erupted into applause. Carmilla thanked everyone and swiftly made her way down off the stage. Not even a minute later, she was standing in front of Laura, looking at the smaller girl with something like awe.

 

“Hey,” she said first.

 

Laura was glad because the butterflies were still being an issue and she didn’t think she could have initiated the conversation.

 

“Hey,” she replied nonetheless.

“I didn’t know you knew about this place,” Carmilla said after a moment of silence, looking a bit shy.

“I found out like 2 days ago. I forgot to mention…” Laura began to explain apologetically.

“That’s okay,” Carmilla reassured. “Did you like the song?” she asked after a few seconds of silence.

 

Laura nodded vigorously and Carmilla chuckled.

 

“Carm, you’re so _good_ ,” She said not nearly as eloquently as she’d have hoped. “The way you play and the way you sing… it’s just… wow.”

“Thank you,” the brunette replied, looking genuinely pleased.

 

They were standing close to each other and Laura was fairly sure that it was affecting her mental abilities. Carmilla was making her so nervous. Part of her wanted to take a step back to breathe, but another, much louder part, wanted to do the complete opposite and have Carmilla be as close as it was possible. It was all very distracting. At least that’s what she blamed for the next words that came out of her mouth.

 

“So there’s maybe hope for us, huh?” she asked, her eyes widening slightly as she heard the words leave her mouth.

 

Carmilla tensed a bit and licked her lips slowly before shrugging one shoulder.

 

“Yes, well, despite these lackwits’ idea of a communication exercise, I think we fared fairly well today. We don’t make half a bad team, sweetheart,” she replied, a bit teasingly.

 

Laura smiled along and nodded.

 

“Yes, I told you we make great friends!” she exclaimed in a squeaky voice.

 

Carmilla’s eyes seemed to shine a fraction less at the words, but other than that her demeanour remained the same.

 

“Yes, of course,” she answered after a beat or two, the teasing gone from her voice now. “Which reminds me, I wanted to thank you. During that game when they asked about my biggest fear, you lied for me. I know lying isn’t something you cherish, but you did it anyway to keep the matter private. I am so grateful, Laura, thank you.”

 

Laura was speechless for a moment. She didn’t think she’d ever heard Carmilla be so completely sincere.

 

“That- that was nothing!” Laura replied eventually with a half shrug. “That’s what anyone would have done, I’m sure.”

“You’re wrong,” Carmilla told her simply. “Most people would not have kept it a secret without the tangible knowledge that I wanted it to remain as such. Most people would have pried long before about the reasons and justifications of my fear. You haven’t even done that and yet you’ve witnessed it for yourself and I do happen to know that you’ve got a curious disposition. It truly _is_ incredible.”

“Well… I’m not most people,” Laura joked.

“I know,” Carmilla replied, looking completely serious still.

 

There was another moment of silence and the intensity of Carmilla’s eyes made the hair on the back of Laura’s neck stand up.

 

“There were years, when I was in foster care, that were harder than others,” Carmilla began to say.

“Carm,” Laura interrupted in the softest of voices. “I don’t want you to tell me just because I lied during the game. I don’t mind not knowing. I respect your love of privacy.”

 

Carmilla smiled at her and grabbed one of Laura’s hands with hers.

  
“You are not making me do anything that I don’t fully desire. I trust you, sweetheart. You should know that by now,” she said.

 

Laura hesitated for a moment, not sure if she truly believed the brunette’s words, as sincere as they sounded. When Carmilla raised a questioning eyebrow at her though, that smile still firmly on her lips, Laura couldn’t help herself. She smiled along and nodded. Who was she to doubt Carmilla? Also, who was she to deny any extra information about the elusive brunette?

 

“So, as I was saying, some years were harder than others. The last foster home I was in before the Morgans adopted me was… unconventional. And so they took it upon themselves to lock disobedient children into small cupboards to teach them a lesson. I was never a particularly obedient child…”Carmilla finished in a whisper.  

 

During her explanation, Carmilla’s eyes had moved and fixed themselves on the floor. Her eyebrows had furrowed and her jaw had tensed. It was obvious that the subject was still something sore for the other girl. The mere thought of something so awful happening to Carmilla made Laura want to cry. She couldn’t believe some people were that cruel to children. Without thinking about it twice, she launched herself into Carmilla’s arms, her own arms locking behind the brunette’s neck and squeezing tightly. Her chest was aching and her throat was heavy. Honestly, _how_ could anyone do that sort of thing? Carmilla’s arms snaked around her waist and she hugged Laura back for a moment.

 

“Thank you for telling me,” Laura muttered in the other girl’s ear.

 

Carmilla’s body seemed to relax after that and Laura let go slowly. There were a lot more things she could have said, but she knew Carmilla and she knew that the other girl would most likely simply want to move the conversation along. Besides, Laura was fairly sure that all the awe she felt towards Carmilla for being so incredibly brave as to have lived with such abuse was fairly visible in her eyes. She didn’t need to say it, Carmilla could see.

 

Silence fell between them after that and it took a moment for Laura to muster the courage to ask the one question she’d been dying to ask.

 

“So…” she began slowly. “That kiss huh…”

“Yes…?” Carmilla probed when it seemed like Laura wasn’t going to continue.

“Was it… you know… alright for you? Because, well, you kinda… left afterwards and I… well I just, I know it was probably super awkward and all, but I wanted to know if it was alright. Despite being… you know, with me.”

 

Carmilla looked at her funnily for a few seconds, her eyebrows scrunched in confusion before she shook her head.

 

“Laura it wasn’t awkward. And it was more than satisfactory. It was… very pleasant…” Carmilla answered slowly.

“Oh,” Laura answered, her cheeks burning. “Good, because, as far as kisses go, I thought it was… pretty amaz-uh _pleasant_ too.”

 

Carmilla smirked instantly and Laura bit her bottom lip in embarrassment.

 

“Well, we can do it again sometime, if you’re so inclined, cupcake,” she teased, making the butterflies in Laura’s stomach flutter harder.

“Yes! Uh _no_! I mean! I… if the uh circumstances call for it, you know, like… casual,” Laura babbled nervously.

 

Carmilla’s eyebrows shot high on her forehead before the smirk on her lips widened.

 

“And here I thought you’d suggest it happen in my dreams… You’re full of surprises, creampuff.”

“Someone’s got to keep you on your toes, right?” Laura shot back with a lot more confidence than she actually felt.

 

Her heart missed a beat when Carmilla chuckled in response.

 

“Someone definitely does…” she agreed with a radiant smile.

 

They stared goofily at each other for another moment before Carmilla cleared her throat and pointed at the stage behind her.

 

“I think I’m gonna go back for a bit,” she said.

“Oh, okay!” Laura answered. “Carm… Can I… do you mind if I, maybe, stay? I… I really like it here and I really like the way you sing so… I mean, unless I’m intruding which, if it’s the case, I will totally leave, no problem, no offense and all but, well… if you don’t mind… I’d like to stay.”

 

Carmilla looked at her curiously before blinking once and smiling incredulously. Then, she nodded and the nerves in Laura’s stomach seemed to die down a little.

 

“You are more than welcome to stay. Actually… I think I’d like that very much,” she answered in a raspy voice.

 

Laura beamed at the answer and Carmilla shook her head slowly.

 

“What?” the smaller girl asked self-consciously.

“It’s nothing creampuff. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” the brunette answered with another shake of her head. “Hey, Louis,” she said afterwards, waving the waiter over. “Can you get this beautiful lady any drink she desires? On me. Thank you,” she finished, setting her gaze on Laura once again.

 

Then, very slowly, Carmilla leaned in and pressed her lips to Laura’s cheek. Laura almost fainted at the contact, especially when she felt the corner of the other girl’s mouth slightly touching hers.

 

“Have a good night Laura,” Carmilla muttered softly in her ear, before walking back towards the stage.

 

Laura couldn’t move for a full 15 seconds after that.

 

“Oh wow! So _you’re_ her girlfriend, huh?” the bartender said somewhere behind her. “You’re one lucky lady,” he added with a chuckle.

 

Laura didn’t turn to look at him, but answered him anyway.

 

“Yeah, I am,” she said, realising only once the words were out how disappointed she was in that moment that they weren’t true.

 

Her heart jumped in her throat and Laura had to put a hand on the bar to steady herself. She couldn’t deny it, could she? In that moment, Laura _wanted_ it to be true.

 

God this was going to be problematic, Laura thought as Carmilla smirked and winked at some people in the audience, all sexy and with smoldering looks.

 

Laura groaned and hit her head on the bar lightly.

 

Worst. Crush. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is that! Now everyone is on board with the feelingssss. 
> 
> I really really hope you enjoyed that. I have every intention of not making you wait quite as long this time around. But you know, I'm not gonna set a date because that's too stressful and takes the fun out of writing right out.
> 
> Some credits:  
> "Love will keep us together" by Captain and Tennille. I strongly recommend you go give it a listen to fully grasp Carmilla's horror.  
> also her serenade is "Alone" by The Franklin Electric. Again, I love this band. Give it a listen if you fancy.
> 
> On the poking fun of fanfiction clichés. Guys, I hope no one was offended. I poke fun at things I love. And the teasing came from a place of absolute love to all my fellow fanfiction writers. 
> 
> Anyway, this is that. Leave me a comment, tell me what you thought of the chapter. It really makes my day.
> 
> MM xx


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